talkingpointsmemo--2020-04-16--Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Signals He’ll Participate In Voting Case After Losing Election

Justice Daniel Kelly , who lost his Wisconsin Supreme Court seat to liberal Jill Karofsky in the controversial April 7 election , is angling to rejoin a case that might end in a mass voter purge before vacating his seat in August .
Kelly previously recused himself from the case because it could ’ ve had some bearing on who voted in an election in which he was on the ballot .
Since that election has now passed , he said in a Wednesday order , he sees no reason for his further lack of participation .
“ The 2020 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so it appears the reason for my recusal from considering any aspect of this matter no longer obtains , ” he wrote .
“ I issue this order to give the parties an opportunity to state their position on whether I should recuse myself from considering the pending petition for review and , potentially , the merits of these consolidated appeals , before I make a final decision on my participation.
” He gave the involved parties until April 22 to voice their opinions on his participation .
Karofsky ’ s campaign did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Last week , Wisconsinites delivered a resounding message that they are sick of Justices who ignore the law to vote in lockstep with their special interest friends , ” Sam Roecker , a spokesman for Karofsky , told TPM in a statement .
“ We hope that Justice Kelly has finally learned that lesson.
” Kelly telegraphed that he ’ d be open to rejoining the case even before the election , earning a jab from Karofsky who called the move “ corruption in its purest form.
” “ ( He ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , I ’ ll be there for you ( to Republicans ) — get me across the finish line on April 7 and I ’ ll be there for you come November , ” she added then , per the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel .
The current composition of the court is five conservatives to two liberals , and the voter purge case will likely be decided before Karofsky takes her seat .
When Kelly recused himself from the case in December , the remaining justices split three-three on whether to take up the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it .
The case could ultimately decide if more than 200,000 voters stay on the voting rolls for the election in November .
The fight started in October when the Wisconsin Elections Commission notified the voters to ask if they ’ d changed addresses .
Those who failed to respond would be removed from the rolls in 2021 .
The conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty filed a lawsuit demanding that the nonresponsive voters be removed before the 2020 election .
Ozaukee County Circuit Judge Paul Malloy came down in favor of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and held the deadlocked Commission in contempt for not immediately purging the voters .
Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul asked the District 4 Court of Appeals in Madison to review the case after Malloy ’ s ruling .
The appeals court froze the order , and a judge in a separate order blocked the contempt ruling .
The case has been highly scrutinized , for good reason : in 2016 , President Donald Trump won the state by fewer than 23,000 votes .

Justice Daniel Kelly, who lost his Wisconsin Supreme Court seat to liberal Jill Karofsky in the controversial April 7 election, is angling to rejoin a case that might end in a mass voter purge before vacating his seat in August.
Kelly previously recused himself from the case because it could’ve had some bearing on who voted in an election in which he was on the ballot. Since that election has now passed, he said in a Wednesday order, he sees no reason for his further lack of participation.
“The 2020 spring general election is now complete, so it appears the reason for my recusal from considering any aspect of this matter no longer obtains,” he wrote. “I issue this order to give the parties an opportunity to state their position on whether I should recuse myself from considering the pending petition for review and, potentially, the merits of these consolidated appeals, before I make a final decision on my participation.”
He gave the involved parties until April 22 to voice their opinions on his participation.
Karofsky’s campaign did not take kindly to the order.
“Last week, Wisconsinites delivered a resounding message that they are sick of Justices who ignore the law to vote in lockstep with their special interest friends,” Sam Roecker, a spokesman for Karofsky, told TPM in a statement. “We hope that Justice Kelly has finally learned that lesson.”
Kelly telegraphed that he’d be open to rejoining the case even before the election, earning a jab from Karofsky who called the move “corruption in its purest form.”
“(He’s) basically saying, ‘Look, I’ll be there for you (to Republicans) — get me across the finish line on April 7 and I’ll be there for you come November,” she added then, per the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The current composition of the court is five conservatives to two liberals, and the voter purge case will likely be decided before Karofsky takes her seat. When Kelly recused himself from the case in December, the remaining justices split three-three on whether to take up the case before an appeals court ruled on it.
The case could ultimately decide if more than 200,000 voters stay on the voting rolls for the election in November.
The fight started in October when the Wisconsin Elections Commission notified the voters to ask if they’d changed addresses. Those who failed to respond would be removed from the rolls in 2021.
The conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty filed a lawsuit demanding that the nonresponsive voters be removed before the 2020 election. Ozaukee County Circuit Judge Paul Malloy came down in favor of the Institute for Law & Liberty, and held the deadlocked Commission in contempt for not immediately purging the voters.
Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul asked the District 4 Court of Appeals in Madison to review the case after Malloy’s ruling. The appeals court froze the order, and a judge in a separate order blocked the contempt ruling.
The case has been highly scrutinized, for good reason: in 2016, President Donald Trump won the state by fewer than 23,000 votes.
Read Kelly’s order here:


talkingpointsmemo--2020-04-16--Jewish Colorado Gov Tears Up At Comparison Of COVID-19 Order To Nazi Germany

The governor of Colorado teared up briefly on Wednesday when asked about comparisons between his social distancing orders to combat the spread of COVID-19 and Nazi Germany .
“ As a Jewish-American who lost family in the Holocaust , I ’ m offended by any comparison to Nazism , ” Polis said , choking up slightly , after a reporter asked about health orders “ being equated to Nazism.
” The Denver Post , which reported on Polis ’ press conference , noted that late last month the Republican minority leader in the Colorado House of Representatives , Patrick Neville @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a “ Gestapo-like mentality.
” Neville later said , “ I should have said authoritarian , not Gestapo.
” Jared Polis is Colorado ’ s first Jewish governor and the first openly gay man elected governor in U.S. history .
Polis lost family members in the Holocaust , which he noted on Thursday .
“ We act to save lives , ” he said , “ the exact opposite of the slaughter of 6 million Jews , and many Gypsies , and Catholics , and gays and lesbians , and Russians and so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who ignored the state ’ s health orders weren ’ t “ sticking it ” to him , but rather to themselves and loved ones .
Colorado was home to a number of early COVID-19 outbreaks , particularly among areas in the state ’ s west where jet-setting skiers from around the world enjoy the Rocky Mountains .
The state has now recorded 8,280 cases of COVID-19 , and 1,636 hospitalizations and 357 deaths as a result of the disease .
The sickest area in the state per capita , Eagle County , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those at Vail and Beaver Creek .
The county currently has 874.9 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people , according to the state — more per person than Manhattan .

The governor of Colorado teared up briefly on Wednesday when asked about comparisons between his social distancing orders to combat the spread of COVID-19 and Nazi Germany.
“As a Jewish-American who lost family in the Holocaust, I’m offended by any comparison to Nazism,” Polis said, choking up slightly, after a reporter asked about health orders “being equated to Nazism.”
The Denver Post, which reported on Polis’ press conference, noted that late last month the Republican minority leader in the Colorado House of Representatives, Patrick Neville, said Polis’ stay-home order reflected a “Gestapo-like mentality.”
Neville later said, “I should have said authoritarian, not Gestapo.”
Jared Polis is Colorado’s first Jewish governor and the first openly gay man elected governor in U.S. history. Polis lost family members in the Holocaust, which he noted on Thursday.
“We act to save lives,” he said, “the exact opposite of the slaughter of 6 million Jews, and many Gypsies, and Catholics, and gays and lesbians, and Russians and so many others.”
Polis added that Coloradans who ignored the state’s health orders weren’t “sticking it” to him, but rather to themselves and loved ones.
Gov. Polis responds to accusations that his stay-at-home order is akin to Nazism: "As a Jewish-American who lost family in the Holocaust, I'm offended by any comparison to Nazism. We act to save lives; the exact opposite of the slaughter of 6 million …" (Video: @denverchannel) pic.twitter.com/nlUwrYVmJI — The Denver Post (@denverpost) April 15, 2020
Colorado was home to a number of early COVID-19 outbreaks, particularly among areas in the state’s west where jet-setting skiers from around the world enjoy the Rocky Mountains.
The state has now recorded 8,280 cases of COVID-19, and 1,636 hospitalizations and 357 deaths as a result of the disease.
The sickest area in the state per capita, Eagle County, is home to legendary ski slopes like those at Vail and Beaver Creek. The county currently has 874.9 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people, according to the state — more per person than Manhattan.


talkingpointsmemo--2020-04-16--Ventilators Aren’t Going to Cure COVID-19. Here’s What They Can Do.

This story first appeared at ProPublica .
ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom .
Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox .
From the first days of the coronavirus outbreak in the United States , hospitals and elected officials began scrambling to amass ventilators .
So long as we had enough of the devices , the idea went , people ’ s lives would be saved .
“ It ’ s all about the ventilators , ” Gov .
Andrew Cuomo of New York said in a March 18 press @ @ @ @ @ @ @ need 37,000 ventilators at the peak of the outbreak , compared with an existing capacity of 3,000 .
Yet as the death toll has continued to rise in New York , where I live , it ’ s become increasingly clear that these devices often can not stop someone with the virus from dying , once the disease takes a fatal turn .
“ The longer you ’ re on a ventilator , the less likely you will come off the ventilator , ” Cuomo acknowledged last week .
Few people infected with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ For those who do , ventilators can certainly be life-saving .
Patients have successfully come off ventilators , and outcomes would be even worse if hospitals didn ’ t have the devices at all .
But they are not going to be a cure .
The conversations I ’ ve had over the past two weeks with front-line doctors , nurses and researchers about treating critically ill patients reminded me that this virus is called the novel coronavirus for a reason — humanity has only gotten to know it for a handful of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to think that we ’ d already know how to best treat the disease .
Ventilators are just part of the picture , and doctors are continuing to learn as they go how to best use the devices , and when to use them , along with other medications and therapies .
First , let ’ s talk about how lungs work .
When you breathe in , the air travels down your windpipe and into the two bronchi that split into the left and right lungs .
The bronchi divide into smaller @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clusters of air sacs , or alveoli , whose walls are thinner than tissue paper .
The air sacs are wrapped in tiny capillaries , which carry blood cells that are waiting for oxygen .
As the alveoli inflate , they press up against the capillaries , and oxygen transfers into the bloodstream .
When a doctor says that a patient has pneumonia — from whatever cause , be it the flu or COVID-19 — that means that the lungs are infected and inflamed .
The air sacs can start filling up with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so they can no longer transfer oxygen to the capillaries .
“ The less surface area you have in your lungs , the less well oxygenated you ’ ll be , ” explained Erin Cashier , an ICU nurse at Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley , California .
A more serious condition that ’ s being seen in the sickest of COVID-19 patients is called Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome ( ARDS ) .
This condition also isn ’ t exclusive to the coronavirus — it can happen when someone ’ s lungs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ include events like near-drowning and inhalation of harmful chemicals , as well as during a severe pneumonia .
When patients develop ARDS , fluid builds up in the air sacs and oxygen levels plummet .
A healthy lung ’ s air sacs are normally coated with surfactant , a slippery substance that helps the sacs inflate and deflate with ease .
In ARDS , the surfactant breaks down , making the lungs stiffer .
Inflammation makes things worse by increasing the gap between the air sacs and the web of capillaries around them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ jump over to feed the bloodstream .
Doctors have a variety of tools to help patients who are having trouble breathing .
Ventilators are a last resort .
The most gentle tool is a nasal cannula , which is a tube with two prongs that is placed on a patient ’ s nostrils .
You ’ ve probably seen that on TV shows .
While it can give a patient a higher concentration of oxygen than what ’ s available in the air , it ’ s still up to the patient to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ If a patient needs more help , doctors can move up to what ’ s called a non-rebreather mask , which still requires a patient to be able to breathe unassisted but can deliver much higher concentrations of oxygen — up to 100 % .
But oxygen concentration isn ’ t the only thing that doctors have to consider .
Sometimes the small branches of the lungs that lead into the air sacs can collapse under the weight of the fluid building up around them , and then even the highest concentrations of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Medical staff then think about increasing the pressure of the air the patient is breathing in .
The high-pressure air helps to “ prop open ” these small airways to allow oxygen and carbon dioxide to flow more freely .
Before this pandemic , doctors would often turn to a device called a BiPAP machine .
It ’ s a noninvasive device that delivers pressurized air to a patient via a mask .
The problem during the coronavirus pandemic has been that BiPAP masks are leaky , so virus particles could escape and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ infection .
So instead , now , when a patient ’ s oxygen levels keep falling , physicians turn to a ventilator .
Patients are put to sleep with sedatives and pain relieving medications before a breathing tube is inserted .
The medications are also continued after intubation , so patients won ’ t feel any discomfort or fight the breathing tube .
Once the tube is in place , a small inflatable cuff is puffed up around it , inside the windpipe , forming a seal that ’ s intended to prevent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the ventilator machine is turned on and starts to push air through the tube , in and out of the patient ’ s lungs .
Using a ventilator gives a medical team many more options for how to manage a patient ’ s breathing .
Oxygen levels and pressure can be dialed up or down .
The team can also control the number of breaths per minute and the size of those breaths .
Taking smaller breaths rather than deep gasping breaths can help protect damaged lungs , explained Dr. Edy Kim @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at Brigham and Women ’ s Hospital in Boston .
COVID-19 behaves differently than other respiratory diseases .
Doctors are being caught off guard .
ARDS looks different in COVID-19 patients , according to a doctor at a Long Island hospital that ’ s now treated more than 1,700 COVID-19 patients .
The doctor , who asked to speak anonymously because he ’ s not authorized to speak on behalf of his facility , described typical ARDS as a “ flash flood , ” in which a patient could crash over 12 hours @ @ @ @ @ @ @ breathing to going on a ventilator .
But from what he ’ s seen , “ it ’ s not like a flash flood.
” In COVID-19 patients , ARDS often behaves “ like a slow storm , where the waters keep rising and rising.
” Kim said that he ’ s been surprised to see how long patients stay on ventilators .
Typically , he said , influenza patients stay on a ventilator for less than two weeks — that ’ s the point at which they ’ d transition a patient @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tube , a hollow tube placed in the neck , which provides a more permanent connection to a ventilator .
Many of the COVID-19 patients he ’ s seen have been on a ventilator for more than two weeks .
What ’ s more , “ in a normal situation , when we take the tube out , maybe one out of 10 has to have the tube put back in , ” Kim said .
“ Right now , in all of the centers , we ’ re talking about up to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ put back in after a day or so , and unfortunately , those people have quite high death rates.
” He noted that these numbers are preliminary , and so estimations of how many patients need to be reintubated may change as time goes by .
Doctors disagree on how to best treat patients with COVID-19 .
Many hospitals are now recommending patients “ prone , ” or lie on their stomachs , because there ’ s more surface area on the backside of the lungs , so when any fluid is shifted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that can increase surface area for oxygen to reach .
The Long Island doctor told me he thinks proning is very helpful .
“ You ’ ll get called for a rapid response and we ’ ll all walk into the room and say , ‘ Put them on the belly !
’ and they do , and magically their oxygen will be in the 90s , 95.
” At his hospital , they ask patients who aren ’ t yet in the ICU to try and stay on their bellies for 16 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ difficulty is getting patients to comply , because most people don ’ t like lying on their belly for that many hours of the day .
He added , the question will be , “ It helps their oxygen levels , but does it help their ultimate outcome ?
” What Kim means is that it ’ s not clear yet that temporarily improving someone ’ s oxygen saturation via proning will make a difference to their survival .
There are also discussions about how to best utilize ventilators .
Some doctors think @ @ @ @ @ @ @ suggest adjustments as to how they are used , such as changing settings to use the lowest possible pressure , Stat reported last week .
Many hospitals initially said they were planning to let two or more patients share a ventilator if necessary , seeing it as a life-saving measure when resources were scant ; by April , most New York City institutions said they were cutting back on the practice because it appeared to endanger patients .
As I talked to medical staff working in COVID-19 wards , the impression I got @ @ @ @ @ @ @ best to do the right thing by their patients , but there just wasn ’ t enough data yet to know for certain what the best protocol might be .
“ It ’ s hard to do rigorous science this quickly/intensely , ” Cashier , the ICU nurse in Castro Valley , lamented to me over email .
Medical teams around the world are in conversation , trying to share information .
Kim is also the senior editor of Brigham and Women ’ s Hospital ’ s COVID-19 care guidelines , which the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ others around the world .
There ’ s not a lot of data on ventilator survival rates yet , but here ’ s what the available studies show .
One study , published in the journal Lancet Respiratory Medicine , tracked 52 critically ill patients at a single hospital in Wuhan , China .
Thirty-seven needed mechanical ventilation , the authors reported .
After 28 days , 30 of those 37 patients had died , and three remained on ventilators .
Another large study , published in the journal JAMA , tracked 1,591 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the Lombardy region of Italy .
Not all of the patients had complete data available , but out of 1,300 with information on respiratory support , 88 % received mechanical ventilation and 11 % received noninvasive ventilation .
The researchers didn ’ t break out mortality rates by therapy .
At the time they published , 26 % had died , 16 % had been discharged and 58 % were still in the ICU .
Here in the U.S. , there ’ s been less data so far .
However , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ published in The New England Journal of Medicine on March 30 .
Doctors tracked 24 patients admitted to intensive care units across nine Seattle-area hospitals .
Three quarters were put on a ventilator .
At the time the paper was published , half the patients had died , which included four patients who had a do-not-resuscitate order on admission .
Of the 12 surviving patients , five had been discharged home , four had left the ICU but remained in the hospital and three continued to be on ventilators in the ICU .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the age range was 23 to 88 years , which suggests that age may not be the sole indicator for successful extubation , ” the study authors wrote .
New York University Langone Health has also reported results from 4,103 coronavirus patients , of which nearly half were hospitalized and 445 , or nearly 11 % , needed a ventilator .
The paper , which is available as a preprint — that means it hasn ’ t yet been peer-reviewed but has been posted online while it awaits journal publication — shows @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ventilator , 16 were discharged at the time of publication , 22 were able to come off a ventilator but were still in the hospital , 162 had died or were in hospice and 245 — just over half — were still on a ventilator .
Cashier , the ICU nurse in California , acknowledged that fatality rates are high for patients sick enough to be on a ventilator , but she wanted the public to not be scared of the device itself .
“ It ’ s a life-saving tool , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not dying because we put you on a ventilator .
You ’ re dying because you have COVID , and it ’ s a bad disease .
We ’ re putting you on it because we want to give you the best chances.
” An ICU nurse in Colorado worries about the long-term impacts for patients who survive .
“ There will be thousands and thousands of people who probably remain on vents for the rest of their lives in care facilities , ” she told me .
She also worries about scarring @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and weeks of inflammation caused by the virus.
” Talk to someone you trust to make your medical decisions .
If you ’ re reading this , worrying about what might happen to you if you catch the coronavirus , or you ’ re anxious for a loved one , such as a family member in a nursing facility or an essential worker who doesn ’ t have the option of hunkering down at home , I know it can be hard to not fixate on the worst-case scenario and remember that statistically @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the coronavirus don ’ t go down that path .
I reached out to Dr. Diane Meier , director of the Center to Advance Palliative Care , to ask her what advice she would have for the public at this time .
Palliative care teams focus on providing relief from symptoms and improving quality of life for patients with serious illness , which can be done in conjunction with curative treatment .
They often work with patients and their families to make decisions on what their goals are , including tackling questions like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ The bottom line is that for everybody who hasn ’ t done it , No .
1 , everyone needs to figure out who we trust to make medical decisions on our behalf if we couldn ’ t make our own , ” Meier said .
One question to consider , she said , is what you would want if a doctor were to say you were sick enough to need intubation .
There ’ s no “ right answer ” — these choices are personal .
“ Some of my patients @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t care how poor my odds are , I want to fight and I want to try everything .
I want a ventilator , I want critical care.
’ And that is exactly what they will get .
Others of my patients have said , ‘ Doctor , if you think I ’ m in a situation where I ’ m unlikely to recover to be able to recognize and interact with my loved ones , ’ then they don ’ t want it .
And then there are some of my @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I would never want that , I saw my mother go through that , I don ’ t want that.
’ ” The key , Meier said , is to articulate your desires , so the person you ’ ve appointed to represent you knows how to make decisions on your behalf if you can ’ t .
Doctors , nurses and respiratory therapists are learning together how best to fight this virus .
New data is coming out weekly as papers are posted online by researchers across the globe .
I ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in this article will eventually look outdated , as protocols get refined and therapies improve .
In the meantime , I ’ m grateful for all the medical workers who walk into work , day after day , to face so many unknowns .

This story first appeared at ProPublica. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox.
From the first days of the coronavirus outbreak in the United States, hospitals and elected officials began scrambling to amass ventilators.
So long as we had enough of the devices, the idea went, people’s lives would be saved. “It’s all about the ventilators,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York said in a March 18 press briefing, adding that the state could need 37,000 ventilators at the peak of the outbreak, compared with an existing capacity of 3,000.
Yet as the death toll has continued to rise in New York, where I live, it’s become increasingly clear that these devices often cannot stop someone with the virus from dying, once the disease takes a fatal turn. “The longer you’re on a ventilator, the less likely you will come off the ventilator,” Cuomo acknowledged last week.
Few people infected with the coronavirus will need a ventilator. For those who do, ventilators can certainly be life-saving. Patients have successfully come off ventilators, and outcomes would be even worse if hospitals didn’t have the devices at all. But they are not going to be a cure.
The conversations I’ve had over the past two weeks with front-line doctors, nurses and researchers about treating critically ill patients reminded me that this virus is called the novel coronavirus for a reason — humanity has only gotten to know it for a handful of months, and it’s naive to think that we’d already know how to best treat the disease. Ventilators are just part of the picture, and doctors are continuing to learn as they go how to best use the devices, and when to use them, along with other medications and therapies.
First, let’s talk about how lungs work.
When you breathe in, the air travels down your windpipe and into the two bronchi that split into the left and right lungs. The bronchi divide into smaller and smaller branches that end in tiny clusters of air sacs, or alveoli, whose walls are thinner than tissue paper. The air sacs are wrapped in tiny capillaries, which carry blood cells that are waiting for oxygen. As the alveoli inflate, they press up against the capillaries, and oxygen transfers into the bloodstream.
When a doctor says that a patient has pneumonia — from whatever cause, be it the flu or COVID-19 — that means that the lungs are infected and inflamed. The air sacs can start filling up with pus or fluid, becoming clogged, so they can no longer transfer oxygen to the capillaries. “The less surface area you have in your lungs, the less well oxygenated you’ll be,” explained Erin Cashier, an ICU nurse at Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, California.
A more serious condition that’s being seen in the sickest of COVID-19 patients is called Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). This condition also isn’t exclusive to the coronavirus — it can happen when someone’s lungs have been badly injured, which could include events like near-drowning and inhalation of harmful chemicals, as well as during a severe pneumonia. When patients develop ARDS, fluid builds up in the air sacs and oxygen levels plummet. A healthy lung’s air sacs are normally coated with surfactant, a slippery substance that helps the sacs inflate and deflate with ease. In ARDS, the surfactant breaks down, making the lungs stiffer. Inflammation makes things worse by increasing the gap between the air sacs and the web of capillaries around them, so that oxygen can’t jump over to feed the bloodstream.
Doctors have a variety of tools to help patients who are having trouble breathing. Ventilators are a last resort.
The most gentle tool is a nasal cannula, which is a tube with two prongs that is placed on a patient’s nostrils. You’ve probably seen that on TV shows. While it can give a patient a higher concentration of oxygen than what’s available in the air, it’s still up to the patient to breathe on his or her own.
If a patient needs more help, doctors can move up to what’s called a non-rebreather mask, which still requires a patient to be able to breathe unassisted but can deliver much higher concentrations of oxygen — up to 100%.
But oxygen concentration isn’t the only thing that doctors have to consider. Sometimes the small branches of the lungs that lead into the air sacs can collapse under the weight of the fluid building up around them, and then even the highest concentrations of oxygen can’t get in. Medical staff then think about increasing the pressure of the air the patient is breathing in. The high-pressure air helps to “prop open” these small airways to allow oxygen and carbon dioxide to flow more freely.
Before this pandemic, doctors would often turn to a device called a BiPAP machine. It’s a noninvasive device that delivers pressurized air to a patient via a mask. The problem during the coronavirus pandemic has been that BiPAP masks are leaky, so virus particles could escape and put health care workers at risk of infection.
So instead, now, when a patient’s oxygen levels keep falling, physicians turn to a ventilator.
Here’s how ventilators work.
Patients are put to sleep with sedatives and pain relieving medications before a breathing tube is inserted. The medications are also continued after intubation, so patients won’t feel any discomfort or fight the breathing tube.
Once the tube is in place, a small inflatable cuff is puffed up around it, inside the windpipe, forming a seal that’s intended to prevent viral particles from getting out. Then, the ventilator machine is turned on and starts to push air through the tube, in and out of the patient’s lungs.
Using a ventilator gives a medical team many more options for how to manage a patient’s breathing. Oxygen levels and pressure can be dialed up or down. The team can also control the number of breaths per minute and the size of those breaths. Taking smaller breaths rather than deep gasping breaths can help protect damaged lungs, explained Dr. Edy Kim, a pulmonary and critical care specialist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
COVID-19 behaves differently than other respiratory diseases. Doctors are being caught off guard.
ARDS looks different in COVID-19 patients, according to a doctor at a Long Island hospital that’s now treated more than 1,700 COVID-19 patients. The doctor, who asked to speak anonymously because he’s not authorized to speak on behalf of his facility, described typical ARDS as a “flash flood,” in which a patient could crash over 12 hours, going from having a little difficulty breathing to going on a ventilator. But from what he’s seen, “it’s not like a flash flood.” In COVID-19 patients, ARDS often behaves “like a slow storm, where the waters keep rising and rising.”
Kim said that he’s been surprised to see how long patients stay on ventilators. Typically, he said, influenza patients stay on a ventilator for less than two weeks — that’s the point at which they’d transition a patient from the breathing tube to a tracheostomy tube, a hollow tube placed in the neck, which provides a more permanent connection to a ventilator. Many of the COVID-19 patients he’s seen have been on a ventilator for more than two weeks.
What’s more, “in a normal situation, when we take the tube out, maybe one out of 10 has to have the tube put back in,” Kim said. “Right now, in all of the centers, we’re talking about up to a third having to have the tube put back in after a day or so, and unfortunately, those people have quite high death rates.” He noted that these numbers are preliminary, and so estimations of how many patients need to be reintubated may change as time goes by.
Doctors disagree on how to best treat patients with COVID-19.
Many hospitals are now recommending patients “prone,” or lie on their stomachs, because there’s more surface area on the backside of the lungs, so when any fluid is shifted toward the patient’s front, that can increase surface area for oxygen to reach.
The Long Island doctor told me he thinks proning is very helpful. “You’ll get called for a rapid response and we’ll all walk into the room and say, ‘Put them on the belly!’ and they do, and magically their oxygen will be in the 90s, 95.” At his hospital, they ask patients who aren’t yet in the ICU to try and stay on their bellies for 16 hours a day.
Kim said the difficulty is getting patients to comply, because most people don’t like lying on their belly for that many hours of the day. He added, the question will be, “It helps their oxygen levels, but does it help their ultimate outcome?” What Kim means is that it’s not clear yet that temporarily improving someone’s oxygen saturation via proning will make a difference to their survival.
There are also discussions about how to best utilize ventilators. Some doctors think ventilators are being overused, while others suggest adjustments as to how they are used, such as changing settings to use the lowest possible pressure, Stat reported last week.
Many hospitals initially said they were planning to let two or more patients share a ventilator if necessary, seeing it as a life-saving measure when resources were scant; by April, most New York City institutions said they were cutting back on the practice because it appeared to endanger patients.
As I talked to medical staff working in COVID-19 wards, the impression I got was that everyone was trying their very best to do the right thing by their patients, but there just wasn’t enough data yet to know for certain what the best protocol might be.
“It’s hard to do rigorous science this quickly/intensely,” Cashier, the ICU nurse in Castro Valley, lamented to me over email.
Medical teams around the world are in conversation, trying to share information. Kim is also the senior editor of Brigham and Women’s Hospital’s COVID-19 care guidelines, which the hospital has posted online to share with others around the world.
There’s not a lot of data on ventilator survival rates yet, but here’s what the available studies show.
One study, published in the journal Lancet Respiratory Medicine, tracked 52 critically ill patients at a single hospital in Wuhan, China. Thirty-seven needed mechanical ventilation, the authors reported. After 28 days, 30 of those 37 patients had died, and three remained on ventilators.
Another large study, published in the journal JAMA, tracked 1,591 critically ill patients admitted to the ICU in the Lombardy region of Italy. Not all of the patients had complete data available, but out of 1,300 with information on respiratory support, 88% received mechanical ventilation and 11% received noninvasive ventilation. The researchers didn’t break out mortality rates by therapy. At the time they published, 26% had died, 16% had been discharged and 58% were still in the ICU.
Here in the U.S., there’s been less data so far. However, a small study from the Seattle region was published in The New England Journal of Medicine on March 30. Doctors tracked 24 patients admitted to intensive care units across nine Seattle-area hospitals. Three quarters were put on a ventilator. At the time the paper was published, half the patients had died, which included four patients who had a do-not-resuscitate order on admission. Of the 12 surviving patients, five had been discharged home, four had left the ICU but remained in the hospital and three continued to be on ventilators in the ICU.
“Of the patients who were extubated, the age range was 23 to 88 years, which suggests that age may not be the sole indicator for successful extubation,” the study authors wrote.
New York University Langone Health has also reported results from 4,103 coronavirus patients, of which nearly half were hospitalized and 445, or nearly 11%, needed a ventilator. The paper, which is available as a preprint — that means it hasn’t yet been peer-reviewed but has been posted online while it awaits journal publication — shows that among the patients who needed a ventilator, 16 were discharged at the time of publication, 22 were able to come off a ventilator but were still in the hospital, 162 had died or were in hospice and 245 — just over half — were still on a ventilator.
Cashier, the ICU nurse in California, acknowledged that fatality rates are high for patients sick enough to be on a ventilator, but she wanted the public to not be scared of the device itself.
“It’s a life-saving tool,” she said. “You’re not dying because we put you on a ventilator. You’re dying because you have COVID, and it’s a bad disease. We’re putting you on it because we want to give you the best chances.”
An ICU nurse in Colorado worries about the long-term impacts for patients who survive. “There will be thousands and thousands of people who probably remain on vents for the rest of their lives in care facilities,” she told me. She also worries about scarring in patients’ lungs after “weeks and weeks of inflammation caused by the virus.”
Talk to someone you trust to make your medical decisions.
If you’re reading this, worrying about what might happen to you if you catch the coronavirus, or you’re anxious for a loved one, such as a family member in a nursing facility or an essential worker who doesn’t have the option of hunkering down at home, I know it can be hard to not fixate on the worst-case scenario and remember that statistically, most people who get infected with the coronavirus don’t go down that path.
I reached out to Dr. Diane Meier, director of the Center to Advance Palliative Care, to ask her what advice she would have for the public at this time. Palliative care teams focus on providing relief from symptoms and improving quality of life for patients with serious illness, which can be done in conjunction with curative treatment. They often work with patients and their families to make decisions on what their goals are, including tackling questions like whether or not to be intubated.
“The bottom line is that for everybody who hasn’t done it, No. 1, everyone needs to figure out who we trust to make medical decisions on our behalf if we couldn’t make our own,” Meier said. One question to consider, she said, is what you would want if a doctor were to say you were sick enough to need intubation. There’s no “right answer” — these choices are personal.
“Some of my patients say to me: ‘I don’t care how poor my odds are, I want to fight and I want to try everything. I want a ventilator, I want critical care.’ And that is exactly what they will get. Others of my patients have said, ‘Doctor, if you think I’m in a situation where I’m unlikely to recover to be able to recognize and interact with my loved ones,’ then they don’t want it. And then there are some of my patients who say, ‘No, I would never want that, I saw my mother go through that, I don’t want that.’”
The key, Meier said, is to articulate your desires, so the person you’ve appointed to represent you knows how to make decisions on your behalf if you can’t.
Doctors, nurses and respiratory therapists are learning together how best to fight this virus. New data is coming out weekly as papers are posted online by researchers across the globe. I’m hoping that the patient outcomes statistics in this article will eventually look outdated, as protocols get refined and therapies improve. In the meantime, I’m grateful for all the medical workers who walk into work, day after day, to face so many unknowns.


talkingpointsmemo--2020-04-16--Despite Federal Ban, Landlords Are Still Moving to Evict People During the Pandemic

This story first appeared at ProPublica .
ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom .
Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox .
Landlords in at least four states have violated the eviction ban passed by Congress last month , a review of records shows , moving to throw more than a hundred people out of their homes .
In an effort to help renters amid the coronavirus pandemic and skyrocketing unemployment , the March 27 CARES Act banned eviction filings for all federally backed rental units nationwide , more than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ProPublica found building owners who are simply not following the law , with no apparent consequence , filing to evict tenants from properties in Georgia , Oklahoma , Texas and Florida .
The scores of cases ProPublica found represent only a small slice of the true total because there ’ s no nationwide — or , in many cases , even statewide — database of eviction filings .
Four landlords said they were reversing eviction filings after being contacted by ProPublica and informed the filings were illegal .
National real estate trade groups @ @ @ @ @ @ @ limit the scope of the ban .
At The Life at Pine Village , a development outside Atlanta where one-bedroom apartments rent for around $ 850 per month , seven tenants were hit with eviction filings last week .
“ Thank you for bringing this to our attention .
The evictions at The Life at Pine Village were done in error and have been halted .
Our team has been working today to contact all tenants who originally received notices , ” said Mark Braykovich , a spokesman for Manhattan-based owner Olive Tree @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of buildings in Texas and Georgia worth more than $ 500 million .
Braykovich said staff had been confused about what is covered by the eviction ban , noting the “ unusual and quick implementation of changes in the law.
” At the Laurel Pointe Apartments in Forest Park , Georgia , the landlord filed for eviction against 25 households several days after the federal ban passed .
The building is owned by Seattle-based Stonemark Housing Partners and managed by Cushman & Wakefield , a $ 2.5 billion publicly traded real estate services @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that after receiving ProPublica ’ s request for comment : “ We began a thorough investigation and determined we did unknowingly and wrongfully begin the eviction process for several residents .
No residents were served or removed from their homes and first thing this morning we filed for dismissal of all evictions.
” The recent eviction filings underscore Congress ’ failure to include an enforcement mechanism in the law , as well as the complexity of the ban , which only applies to certain categories of properties .
“ There ’ s nothing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a clear penalty for violating the new law , ” said Dan Immergluck , an urban studies professor at Georgia State University in Atlanta .
He added it ’ s not clear that landlords even know about the ban .
It ’ s impossible to know how widespread the violations are .
Eviction filings are notoriously difficult to track around the country because they are typically handled in city or county courts , only some of which post cases online , even during normal times .
The roughly 120 eviction filings ProPublica found @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seven counties in three states , along with the entire state of Oklahoma .
These places were chosen based on their population , ease of access to online records and because they had a substantial number of new cases in the past month .
Several other county courts where ProPublica tried to review records have stopped posting case information altogether because of the pandemic .
Landlords are still allowed to file some kinds of evictions at covered properties , including when a tenant is a threat to others .
They are prohibited from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But documents for the roughly 70 cases that ProPublica was able to obtain showed landlords filed specifically for nonpayment of rent , in violation of the law .
Landlords are already lobbying to roll back the more than two-week old federal ban .
In a letter to the White House and Congress this month , several national trade groups pressed for the eviction ban to be narrowed to cover only tenants “ adversely affected by the outbreak , but also require residents to officially notify the property owner , ” The Real @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not mean a tenant is immediately kicked to the curb .
Tenants are sometimes protected by state and local laws as well .
The procedure is different in every state , but under normal circumstances , it could be several weeks from the time a tenant misses the rent before a sheriff makes it to their door .
Tenants facing eviction often don ’ t know their legal rights , advocates say , and the notice alone could cause them to leave their homes , posing public health risks in the face of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ see the eviction process through , the filings can have other serious consequences .
It often carries significant fees for tenants and can get them added to blacklists used by many landlords to screen potential renters .
“ It immediately impairs your ability to get out of the situation that you ’ re in , and it ’ s that much harder to find a landlord that will rent to you , ” said Erin Willoughby , a lawyer with the Atlanta Legal Aid Society .
The CARES act prohibits landlords from charging @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the eviction filings ProPublica reviewed show that landlords sought late fees and legal costs from their tenants .
The fees vary , but typically amount to 20 % to 30 % of the tenant ’ s monthly rent .
In some cases reviewed by ProPublica , attorneys ’ fees alone were as high as $ 300 .
Housing advocates around the country are struggling even to identify which buildings fall under the eviction ban , which lasts until July 25 .
The CARES Act lays out several categories , including buildings with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ certain tax credits or participate in voucher programs .
That covers more than 25 % of all rentals in the country , according to estimates by the Urban Institute , or about 12.3 million units .
There is no single tool or data source that tells renters , advocates or landlords if their building is covered by the ban .
That makes it difficult for tenants to know if their eviction case was filed illegally or not .
Even as some landlords are violating the ban , overall evictions have dropped substantially in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the CARES Act moratorium , some states have issued their own eviction bans , and many physical court locations are currently closed to nonessential business , making it difficult to file in places where there is no online portal .
While many of the illegal filings ProPublica found came days after the ban was passed March 27 , records show landlords have continued to file for evictions in the past two weeks .
Most of the landlords filing evictions since the ban went into effect did not respond to requests for comment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a New York City-based firm that is best known in the industry for purchasing a portfolio of East Harlem rental buildings for more than $ 350 million in 2016 .
Emerald ’ s CEO , Isaac Kassirer , is the subject of frequent stories in the business press , including for investing in rent-regulated buildings with an eye to increasing rents , tenant lawsuits and allegations of poor building upkeep .
Kassirer has said that Emerald ’ s apartments are affordable and that he never harasses tenants .
Between March 30 and April @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nine tenants at 13Ten Apartments , a complex in a low-income , largely black part of DeKalb County outside of Atlanta .
But Kassirer ’ s firm took out a $ 47 million government-backed loan on the property in 2019 , which puts it under the eviction ban in the CARES act .
ProPublica was able to identify illegal eviction filings by cross-referencing the court filings in Houston , Tampa , metro Atlanta and Oklahoma against mortgage documents and databases from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and Fannie Mae and Freddie @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the housing market by buying loans from lenders and reselling them to investors .
Legal experts say that , in the absence of federal penalties , landlords are unlikely to face any consequences for bringing the illegal cases in local courts .
“ There ’ s not a lot at stake if the landlord loses the case , or if it gets dismissed , ” said Eric Dunn , director of litigation at the National Housing Law Project .
Many tenants don ’ t have the resources to challenge their cases , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pattern of frivolous lawsuits before a judge .
“ It ’ s very uncommon that courts levy sanctions against landlords , ” Dunn said .
Because there is no legislation relieving tenants from rent payments during the pandemic , renters who are currently protected from eviction will still be responsible for paying any back-rent when the federal and local bans are lifted .
In the absence of rental assistance , housing advocates are bracing for the worst when the eviction process returns .
“ We don ’ t want there to be a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ once the moratoria are lifted , ” said Diane Yentel , president and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition .
Yentel ’ s group is advocating for additional legislation to provide funding for short-term rental assistance to ensure that tenants and landlords can continue to pay their bills .
Are you having trouble with your rent , mortgage or debts ?
Or do you work in the housing or debt industries and have something you think we should know about ?
Let us know here .

This story first appeared at ProPublica. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox.
Landlords in at least four states have violated the eviction ban passed by Congress last month, a review of records shows, moving to throw more than a hundred people out of their homes.
In an effort to help renters amid the coronavirus pandemic and skyrocketing unemployment, the March 27 CARES Act banned eviction filings for all federally backed rental units nationwide, more than a quarter of the total.
But ProPublica found building owners who are simply not following the law, with no apparent consequence, filing to evict tenants from properties in Georgia, Oklahoma, Texas and Florida. The scores of cases ProPublica found represent only a small slice of the true total because there’s no nationwide — or, in many cases, even statewide — database of eviction filings.
Four landlords said they were reversing eviction filings after being contacted by ProPublica and informed the filings were illegal. National real estate trade groups, however, are already lobbying to limit the scope of the ban.
At The Life at Pine Village, a development outside Atlanta where one-bedroom apartments rent for around $850 per month, seven tenants were hit with eviction filings last week.
“Thank you for bringing this to our attention. The evictions at The Life at Pine Village were done in error and have been halted. Our team has been working today to contact all tenants who originally received notices,” said Mark Braykovich, a spokesman for Manhattan-based owner Olive Tree Holdings.
Olive Tree has a portfolio of buildings in Texas and Georgia worth more than $500 million. Braykovich said staff had been confused about what is covered by the eviction ban, noting the “unusual and quick implementation of changes in the law.”
At the Laurel Pointe Apartments in Forest Park, Georgia, the landlord filed for eviction against 25 households several days after the federal ban passed. The building is owned by Seattle-based Stonemark Housing Partners and managed by Cushman & Wakefield, a $2.5 billion publicly traded real estate services firm.
A Laurel Pointe spokesperson said that after receiving ProPublica’s request for comment: “We began a thorough investigation and determined we did unknowingly and wrongfully begin the eviction process for several residents. No residents were served or removed from their homes and first thing this morning we filed for dismissal of all evictions.”
The recent eviction filings underscore Congress’ failure to include an enforcement mechanism in the law, as well as the complexity of the ban, which only applies to certain categories of properties.
“There’s nothing in the bill that seems to create a clear penalty for violating the new law,” said Dan Immergluck, an urban studies professor at Georgia State University in Atlanta. He added it’s not clear that landlords even know about the ban.
It’s impossible to know how widespread the violations are. Eviction filings are notoriously difficult to track around the country because they are typically handled in city or county courts, only some of which post cases online, even during normal times. The roughly 120 eviction filings ProPublica found represents a review of records in just seven counties in three states, along with the entire state of Oklahoma. These places were chosen based on their population, ease of access to online records and because they had a substantial number of new cases in the past month. Several other county courts where ProPublica tried to review records have stopped posting case information altogether because of the pandemic.
Landlords are still allowed to file some kinds of evictions at covered properties, including when a tenant is a threat to others. They are prohibited from evicting tenants for failing to pay rent. But documents for the roughly 70 cases that ProPublica was able to obtain showed landlords filed specifically for nonpayment of rent, in violation of the law.
Landlords are already lobbying to roll back the more than two-week old federal ban. In a letter to the White House and Congress this month, several national trade groups pressed for the eviction ban to be narrowed to cover only tenants “adversely affected by the outbreak, but also require residents to officially notify the property owner,” The Real Deal reported.
An eviction filing does not mean a tenant is immediately kicked to the curb. Tenants are sometimes protected by state and local laws as well. The procedure is different in every state, but under normal circumstances, it could be several weeks from the time a tenant misses the rent before a sheriff makes it to their door. Tenants facing eviction often don’t know their legal rights, advocates say, and the notice alone could cause them to leave their homes, posing public health risks in the face of an ongoing pandemic.
Even if tenants see the eviction process through, the filings can have other serious consequences. It often carries significant fees for tenants and can get them added to blacklists used by many landlords to screen potential renters. “It immediately impairs your ability to get out of the situation that you’re in, and it’s that much harder to find a landlord that will rent to you,” said Erin Willoughby, a lawyer with the Atlanta Legal Aid Society.
The CARES act prohibits landlords from charging tenants fees as well, but most of the eviction filings ProPublica reviewed show that landlords sought late fees and legal costs from their tenants. The fees vary, but typically amount to 20% to 30% of the tenant’s monthly rent. In some cases reviewed by ProPublica, attorneys’ fees alone were as high as $300.
Housing advocates around the country are struggling even to identify which buildings fall under the eviction ban, which lasts until July 25. The CARES Act lays out several categories, including buildings with federally backed mortgages and others that receive certain tax credits or participate in voucher programs. That covers more than 25% of all rentals in the country, according to estimates by the Urban Institute, or about 12.3 million units. There is no single tool or data source that tells renters, advocates or landlords if their building is covered by the ban. That makes it difficult for tenants to know if their eviction case was filed illegally or not.
Even as some landlords are violating the ban, overall evictions have dropped substantially in the regions ProPublica reviewed. In addition to the CARES Act moratorium, some states have issued their own eviction bans, and many physical court locations are currently closed to nonessential business, making it difficult to file in places where there is no online portal. While many of the illegal filings ProPublica found came days after the ban was passed March 27, records show landlords have continued to file for evictions in the past two weeks.
Most of the landlords filing evictions since the ban went into effect did not respond to requests for comment. They include Emerald Equity Group, a New York City-based firm that is best known in the industry for purchasing a portfolio of East Harlem rental buildings for more than $350 million in 2016.
Emerald’s CEO, Isaac Kassirer, is the subject of frequent stories in the business press, including for investing in rent-regulated buildings with an eye to increasing rents, tenant lawsuits and allegations of poor building upkeep. Kassirer has said that Emerald’s apartments are affordable and that he never harasses tenants.
Between March 30 and April 1, Emerald filed eviction papers on nine tenants at 13Ten Apartments, a complex in a low-income, largely black part of DeKalb County outside of Atlanta. But Kassirer’s firm took out a $47 million government-backed loan on the property in 2019, which puts it under the eviction ban in the CARES act.
ProPublica was able to identify illegal eviction filings by cross-referencing the court filings in Houston, Tampa, metro Atlanta and Oklahoma against mortgage documents and databases from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The two government-sponsored agencies support the housing market by buying loans from lenders and reselling them to investors.
Legal experts say that, in the absence of federal penalties, landlords are unlikely to face any consequences for bringing the illegal cases in local courts.
“There’s not a lot at stake if the landlord loses the case, or if it gets dismissed,” said Eric Dunn, director of litigation at the National Housing Law Project. Many tenants don’t have the resources to challenge their cases, and the bar is high for establishing a pattern of frivolous lawsuits before a judge.
“It’s very uncommon that courts levy sanctions against landlords,” Dunn said.
Because there is no legislation relieving tenants from rent payments during the pandemic, renters who are currently protected from eviction will still be responsible for paying any back-rent when the federal and local bans are lifted.
In the absence of rental assistance, housing advocates are bracing for the worst when the eviction process returns. “We don’t want there to be a cliff that low-income renters fall off of once the moratoria are lifted,” said Diane Yentel, president and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
Yentel’s group is advocating for additional legislation to provide funding for short-term rental assistance to ensure that tenants and landlords can continue to pay their bills.
Are you having trouble with your rent, mortgage or debts? Or do you work in the housing or debt industries and have something you think we should know about? Let us know here.
Lylla Younes and Doris Burke contributed reporting.


talkingpointsmemo--2020-04-16--PA Republicans Attempt To Reopen Businesses Over Governor’s Order

Pennsylvania Republicans sent legislation to Gov .
Tom Wolf ’ s ( D ) desk Wednesday to reopen some currently shuttered businesses , and to shift more power to do so to county officials .
The first bill would implement a broader definition of who qualifies as an essential worker than the list the governor published .
In particular , it would include all construction workers ; currently , only emergency repairs are being made in the commonwealth .
It would also force the governor to create a “ mitigation plan ” for businesses to follow that hews to guidance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Any business that followed that plan would be permitted to reopen .
The bill passed largely down party lines in the Republican-majority Senate and House of Representatives .
Nate Wardle , Wolf ’ s press secretary , told TPM that they “ can not comment on proposed legislation , ” but that “ it is important that we allow science and the COVID-19 data to assist in our decision making process , for the health and wellbeing of all Pennsylvanians.
” Pennsylvania ’ s lieutenant governor John Fetterman , however , was a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s intentions in a Wednesday tweet .
The second bill , also introduced and passed largely on the votes of Republicans , would seek to strip even more authority from the governor .
It would vest county officials with the power to broaden the categories of essential workers , and to allow businesses in certain areas to reopen , providing they operate according to CDC guidelines .
Democratic Senate whip Anthony Williams traced the transmission of the disease that could accompany trucks moving goods between states and regions of Pennsylvania if a mass @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I am certainly concerned about economy , as we all are , Democrats and Republicans , ” he said on a video call with the other senators .
“ My response is to say it is maybe a good intention , but flawed approach , ” he added , encouraging the senators to vote again the measure .
Republicans lack the numbers to amass the two-thirds needed to override a veto on their own , and Democrats are staunchly opposed to reopening businesses early .
The effort is resonant of one by Republicans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with the governor over her banning of church gatherings over ten people .
The state Supreme Court ultimately sided with the governor , allowing her order to stand .
Though the Pennsylvanian Republicans ’ efforts will likely prove similarly fruitless , the GOP chafing under stay-at-home orders mirrors a reaction seen in both White House press briefings and protest chants .
President Donald Trump has repeatedly called for society to reopen sooner rather than later , his mantra on the matter being that the “ cure can ’ t be worse than the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ parroted by protesters nationwide , who have staked out state capitols ( often in violation of social distancing guidelines ) in recent days to express their frustration with stay-at-home orders .
In Michigan , Gov .
Gretchen Whitmer ’ s ( D ) expansion of her stay-at-home order enraged previously supportive Republicans , both on the legislative and civilian level .
On Wednesday , protesters clogged the streets surrounding the capitol building in Lansing .
Calling the demonstration “ Operation Gridlock , ” protesters , many of them attired in MAGA gear , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her up !
” Similar , though smaller , demonstrations broke out this week in Raleigh , North Carolina and Columbus , Ohio .
On Wednesday , protests outside the Kentucky capitol were so loud that they threatened to drown out Gov .
Andy Beshear ’ s ( D ) daily press conference .
Per the Courier-Journal , demonstrators shouted “ we want to work !
” and “ facts over fear.
” Beshear acknowledged the chanting about halfway through his remarks .
“ We do have some folks up in here in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ able to express their opinion — that believe we should reopen Kentucky immediately , right now , ” Beshear said .
“ Folks , that would kill people .
That would absolutely kill people .
”

Pennsylvania Republicans sent legislation to Gov. Tom Wolf’s (D) desk Wednesday to reopen some currently shuttered businesses, and to shift more power to do so to county officials.
The first bill would implement a broader definition of who qualifies as an essential worker than the list the governor published. In particular, it would include all construction workers; currently, only emergency repairs are being made in the commonwealth.
It would also force the governor to create a “mitigation plan” for businesses to follow that hews to guidance from the Centers for Disease Control. Any business that followed that plan would be permitted to reopen.
The bill passed largely down party lines in the Republican-majority Senate and House of Representatives.
Nate Wardle, Wolf’s press secretary, told TPM that they “cannot comment on proposed legislation,” but that “it is important that we allow science and the COVID-19 data to assist in our decision making process, for the health and wellbeing of all Pennsylvanians.”
Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor John Fetterman, however, was a bit more candid about the governor’s intentions in a Wednesday tweet.
The second bill, also introduced and passed largely on the votes of Republicans, would seek to strip even more authority from the governor.
It would vest county officials with the power to broaden the categories of essential workers, and to allow businesses in certain areas to reopen, providing they operate according to CDC guidelines.
Democratic Senate whip Anthony Williams traced the transmission of the disease that could accompany trucks moving goods between states and regions of Pennsylvania if a mass of businesses was quickly reopened.
“I am certainly concerned about economy, as we all are, Democrats and Republicans,” he said on a video call with the other senators. “My response is to say it is maybe a good intention, but flawed approach,” he added, encouraging the senators to vote again the measure.
Republicans lack the numbers to amass the two-thirds needed to override a veto on their own, and Democrats are staunchly opposed to reopening businesses early.
The effort is resonant of one by Republicans in Kansas, who went to war with the governor over her banning of church gatherings over ten people. The state Supreme Court ultimately sided with the governor, allowing her order to stand.
Though the Pennsylvanian Republicans’ efforts will likely prove similarly fruitless, the GOP chafing under stay-at-home orders mirrors a reaction seen in both White House press briefings and protest chants.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly called for society to reopen sooner rather than later, his mantra on the matter being that the “cure can’t be worse than the problem itself.”
That attitude has been parroted by protesters nationwide, who have staked out state capitols (often in violation of social distancing guidelines) in recent days to express their frustration with stay-at-home orders.
In Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s (D) expansion of her stay-at-home order enraged previously supportive Republicans, both on the legislative and civilian level. On Wednesday, protesters clogged the streets surrounding the capitol building in Lansing.
Calling the demonstration “Operation Gridlock,” protesters, many of them attired in MAGA gear, took to the streets chanting “lock her up!”
Similar, though smaller, demonstrations broke out this week in Raleigh, North Carolina and Columbus, Ohio.
On Wednesday, protests outside the Kentucky capitol were so loud that they threatened to drown out Gov. Andy Beshear’s (D) daily press conference. Per the Courier-Journal, demonstrators shouted “we want to work!” and “facts over fear.”
Beshear acknowledged the chanting about halfway through his remarks.
“We do have some folks up in here in Kentucky today — and everybody should be able to express their opinion — that believe we should reopen Kentucky immediately, right now,” Beshear said. “Folks, that would kill people. That would absolutely kill people.”


talkingpointsmemo--2020-04-16--GOP Maryland Governor: Now Is ‘The Worst Possible Time’ To Reopen Economy

Maryland Gov .
Larry Hogan ( R ) stated in no uncertain terms on Thursday that reopening the economy right now during the COVID-19 outbreak really isn ’ t an option , despite President Donald Trump ’ s wishes .
“ It ’ d really be the worst possible time for us to try to put more people out there and endanger them , ” the governor said during an interview on NBC ’ s “ 3rd Hour of TODAY.
” Hogan , who leads the National Governors Association , mentioned that he and his colleagues would be speaking to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on in the day to discuss the federal government ’ s guidelines .
However , there are several “ building blocks ” that all the states need to attain before they allow non-essential businesses to reopen , according to Hogan : Increased testing , the ability for health experts to do contact tracing , procuring all the PPEs that medical professionals need and ensuring the hospitals have the overall capability to handle the outbreak .
“ Everybody wants to get our economy back and get people back to work and get our small @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ But we also want to make sure we do it in a safe way and we ’ re not just ramping things back up and endangering the lives of thousands of people.
” He isn ’ t the only governor to push back against Trump ’ s demand to reopen the economy , or even the only GOP governor to do so : Ohio Gov .
Mike DeWine ( R ) and Massachusetts Gov .
Charlie Baker ( R ) have also said their states weren ’ t ready to go back @ @ @ @ @ @ @ agreed .

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) stated in no uncertain terms on Thursday that reopening the economy right now during the COVID-19 outbreak really isn’t an option, despite President Donald Trump’s wishes.
“It’d really be the worst possible time for us to try to put more people out there and endanger them,” the governor said during an interview on NBC’s “3rd Hour of TODAY.”
Hogan, who leads the National Governors Association, mentioned that he and his colleagues would be speaking to Trump and Vice President Mike Pence later on in the day to discuss the federal government’s guidelines.
However, there are several “building blocks” that all the states need to attain before they allow non-essential businesses to reopen, according to Hogan: Increased testing, the ability for health experts to do contact tracing, procuring all the PPEs that medical professionals need and ensuring the hospitals have the overall capability to handle the outbreak.
“Everybody wants to get our economy back and get people back to work and get our small businesses open,” Hogan said. “But we also want to make sure we do it in a safe way and we’re not just ramping things back up and endangering the lives of thousands of people.”
He isn’t the only governor to push back against Trump’s demand to reopen the economy, or even the only GOP governor to do so: Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) and Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) have also said their states weren’t ready to go back to business, and Democratic governors have agreed.
Watch Hogan below:


talkingpointsmemo--2020-04-16--Man Allegedly Tried Blowing Up Jewish Nursing Home Using Christian Pamphlet As Fuse

A Massachusetts man was arrested Wednesday for allegedly attempting to blow up a Jewish assisted living facility with a gas canister , using a Christian pamphlet as a fuse .
The canister was discovered at the entrance of Ruth ’ s House , a facility in Longmeadow , Massachusetts , on April 2 , the U.S. Attorney ’ s Office for the District of Massachusetts said in a statement .
That was the day before someone in an extremist social media group that promoted mass killings against minorities had scheduled “ jew killing day , ” at the location “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the group specified “ that jew nursing home in longmeadow massachusetts ” as a potential target .
John Michael Rathbun , 36 , was charged with attempted arson for allegedly leaving the canister at the nursing home ’ s driveway .
It did not ignite , but an FBI agent said in an affidavit that blood stains on the canister matched Rathbun ’ s DNA .
Police subsequently received a search warrant for his residence , where they spotted several more gas canisters .
Rathbun ’ s mother , according to the affidavit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ own Christian proselytizing pamphlets but didn ’ t recognize the one discovered at the scene .
“ I observed that Rathbun ’ s hands had numerous cuts or wounds in various states of freshness , including an open would on his right thumb , ” FBI agent Ryan McConigle wrote in the affidavit .
Rathbun , according to the affidavit , denied knowing that the nursing home was on the street where the bomb was discovered , and said he was only familiar with the area for a methadone clinic he visited nearby @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also recently used “ Xanax , pot dope and alcohol , ” according to the affidavit , but flatly denied involvement with the extremist social media group , saying he only used the internet for dating and porn .
“ When agents presented him with photographs of the bloodstained Christian pamphlet that had been used to light the incendiary device at Ruth ’ s House and informed him that his DNA matched the blood , Rathbun ’ s demeanor visible changed , ” the affidavit read , “ and a short while later @ @ @ @ @ @ @ know what he was going to do and that he wanted to cry.
” The U.S. Attorney ’ s Office for the District of Massachusetts shared the FBI agent ’ s affidavit with TPM Thursday morning .
( Read it below . )
It was unclear Thursday whether Rathbun had an attorney .
On Facebook Thursday morning , the Longmeadow Police Department said its officers and the city ’ s fire department were called to Ruth ’ s House on the morning of April 2 to investigate a suspicious item .
“ The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fashioned explosive device made from a small gasoline container , ” the department wrote .
“ Fortunately , the item did not work as intended.
” “ The Longmeadow Police Dept .
has zero tolerance for crimes motivated by hate , ” the statement added .
U.S. Attorney Andrew E. Lelling said in a statement Wednesday that “ in times of national crisis , hatred based on religion often blossoms into violence.
” Read the FBI ’ s affidavit on Rathbun below :

A Massachusetts man was arrested Wednesday for allegedly attempting to blow up a Jewish assisted living facility with a gas canister, using a Christian pamphlet as a fuse.
The canister was discovered at the entrance of Ruth’s House, a facility in Longmeadow, Massachusetts, on April 2, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts said in a statement. That was the day before someone in an extremist social media group that promoted mass killings against minorities had scheduled “jew killing day,” at the location “Jew Nursery Home.”
A member of the group specified “that jew nursing home in longmeadow massachusetts” as a potential target.
John Michael Rathbun, 36, was charged with attempted arson for allegedly leaving the canister at the nursing home’s driveway. It did not ignite, but an FBI agent said in an affidavit that blood stains on the canister matched Rathbun’s DNA.
Police subsequently received a search warrant for his residence, where they spotted several more gas canisters. Rathbun’s mother, according to the affidavit, told authorities that she prints her own Christian proselytizing pamphlets but didn’t recognize the one discovered at the scene.
“I observed that Rathbun’s hands had numerous cuts or wounds in various states of freshness, including an open would on his right thumb,” FBI agent Ryan McConigle wrote in the affidavit.
Rathbun, according to the affidavit, denied knowing that the nursing home was on the street where the bomb was discovered, and said he was only familiar with the area for a methadone clinic he visited nearby. He told police he’d also recently used “Xanax, pot dope and alcohol,” according to the affidavit, but flatly denied involvement with the extremist social media group, saying he only used the internet for dating and porn.
“When agents presented him with photographs of the bloodstained Christian pamphlet that had been used to light the incendiary device at Ruth’s House and informed him that his DNA matched the blood, Rathbun’s demeanor visible changed,” the affidavit read, “and a short while later, he stated that he did not know what he was going to do and that he wanted to cry.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts shared the FBI agent’s affidavit with TPM Thursday morning. (Read it below.) It was unclear Thursday whether Rathbun had an attorney.
On Facebook Thursday morning, the Longmeadow Police Department said its officers and the city’s fire department were called to Ruth’s House on the morning of April 2 to investigate a suspicious item.
“The item was determined to be a crudely fashioned explosive device made from a small gasoline container,” the department wrote. “Fortunately, the item did not work as intended.”
“The Longmeadow Police Dept. has zero tolerance for crimes motivated by hate,” the statement added.
U.S. Attorney Andrew E. Lelling said in a statement Wednesday that “in times of national crisis, hatred based on religion often blossoms into violence.”
Read the FBI’s affidavit on Rathbun below:


talkingpointsmemo--2020-04-17--Pastors, Churches Sue Governors For COVID Orders They Say Violate Their Religious Liberty

Churches and their leaders in states across the country are suing governors for COVID-19-inspired orders that they say are infringing on their right to worship freely .
In Kentucky , the Maryville Baptist Church and its pastor sued Gov .
Andy Beshear ( D ) in federal court for the “ unconstitutional application of the gathering orders , ” claiming he “ targeted ” churchgoers who gathered on Easter Sunday for the only in-person service in the state .
A few of those churchgoers filed their own lawsuit earlier in the week , after receiving notices in the mail that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
They were identified by their license plates in the church parking lot .
In the new lawsuit , the church and pastor , Jack Roberts , expressed outrage that church gatherings were not categorized as essential services in the state , while institutions like “ liquor stores ” were .
“ The Commonwealth found 19 categories of businesses for which large numbers of people may gather without restraint , but expressly prohibited the constitutionally protected assemblies or ‘ gatherings ’ of ‘ faith-based ’ groups , ” the lawsuit said .
They @ @ @ @ @ @ @ injunction to keep Beshear from enforcing his orders on the church gatherings .
“ Governor Beshear has clearly targeted this church and violated these church members ’ religious freedom , ” said Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver , an attorney representing the church , in a statement .
“ The only reason these people were given notices is because they were in a church parking lot .
Had they parked in the nearby shopping center they would not have been targeted .
This is clearly Gov .
Andy Beshear ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Maryville Baptist Church are not the only ones chafing against coronavirus restrictions .
Over in Texas , a whole slew of pastors , churches and conservative activists are suing Gov .
Greg Abbott ( R ) and Attorney General Ken Paxton ( R ) for similarly constraining their religious liberty .
“ The Texas Constitution guarantees our God-given unalienable rights to worship , to peaceably assemble , and to move about freely without unconstitutional restrictions on one ’ s egress and ingress , ” the lawsuit , noted by a Houston Chronicle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ these rights is contingent upon our health status or subject to the limitations Governor Abbott is attempting to impose on those rights.
” Many of the same plaintiffs had previously filed a suit challenging Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo ’ s stay-at-home order that tagged religious services as nonessential .
In his subsequent executive order , Abbott actually reclassified church gatherings as essential , but encouraged remote services wherever possible .
Even those limitations , and the governor ’ s direction that in-person services be conducted in accordance with CDC guidelines , were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Similarly to the Kentucky group , they are seeking a preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order from the Travis County district court .
The fight for unfettered religious freedom amid the pandemic crept all the way up to the Kansas state legislature earlier this month , where Republicans tried to overturn Gov .
Laura Kelly ’ s ( D ) order banning church gatherings over ten people just before Easter .
Kelly got a victory on that front after she sued in state Supreme Court , allowing her order to stand for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ during difficult times like these , many Kansans turn to their faith for guidance and strength , ” she said then .
“ That should continue — but in a way that will keep our friends and loved ones safe .
”

Churches and their leaders in states across the country are suing governors for COVID-19-inspired orders that they say are infringing on their right to worship freely.
In Kentucky, the Maryville Baptist Church and its pastor sued Gov. Andy Beshear (D) in federal court for the “unconstitutional application of the gathering orders,” claiming he “targeted” churchgoers who gathered on Easter Sunday for the only in-person service in the state.
A few of those churchgoers filed their own lawsuit earlier in the week, after receiving notices in the mail that they need to self-quarantine for 14 days. They were identified by their license plates in the church parking lot.
In the new lawsuit, the church and pastor, Jack Roberts, expressed outrage that church gatherings were not categorized as essential services in the state, while institutions like “liquor stores” were.
“The Commonwealth found 19 categories of businesses for which large numbers of people may gather without restraint, but expressly prohibited the constitutionally protected assemblies or ‘gatherings’ of ‘faith-based’ groups,” the lawsuit said.
They seek a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to keep Beshear from enforcing his orders on the church gatherings.
“Governor Beshear has clearly targeted this church and violated these church members’ religious freedom,” said Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver, an attorney representing the church, in a statement. “The only reason these people were given notices is because they were in a church parking lot. Had they parked in the nearby shopping center they would not have been targeted. This is clearly Gov. Andy Beshear’s discriminating against churches.”
The members of the Maryville Baptist Church are not the only ones chafing against coronavirus restrictions.
Over in Texas, a whole slew of pastors, churches and conservative activists are suing Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) for similarly constraining their religious liberty.
“The Texas Constitution guarantees our God-given unalienable rights to worship, to peaceably assemble, and to move about freely without unconstitutional restrictions on one’s egress and ingress,” the lawsuit, noted by a Houston Chronicle reporter, said. “None of these rights is contingent upon our health status or subject to the limitations Governor Abbott is attempting to impose on those rights.”
Many of the same plaintiffs had previously filed a suit challenging Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo’s stay-at-home order that tagged religious services as nonessential.
In his subsequent executive order, Abbott actually reclassified church gatherings as essential, but encouraged remote services wherever possible.
Even those limitations, and the governor’s direction that in-person services be conducted in accordance with CDC guidelines, were too “draconian” for the plaintiffs.
Similarly to the Kentucky group, they are seeking a preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order from the Travis County district court.
The fight for unfettered religious freedom amid the pandemic crept all the way up to the Kansas state legislature earlier this month, where Republicans tried to overturn Gov. Laura Kelly’s (D) order banning church gatherings over ten people just before Easter.
Kelly got a victory on that front after she sued in state Supreme Court, allowing her order to stand for the holiday.
“I know that during difficult times like these, many Kansans turn to their faith for guidance and strength,” she said then. “That should continue — but in a way that will keep our friends and loved ones safe.”
Read the Kentucky lawsuit here:


talkingpointsmemo--2020-04-17--Judge Issues Restraining Order To ‘Church’ Selling Bleach As COVID-19 Cure

A federal judge in Florida ordered a “ church ” hawking bleach as a holy sacrament to stop selling it as a COVID-19 cure .
“ Genesis II Church of Health and Healing ” has in recent weeks marketed an industrial bleach concoction long a mainstay in anti-vaccine circles — “ Miracle Mineral Solution , ” or MMS — as a coronavirus prevention and treatment elixir , prosecutors alleged in a complaint Thursday .
On Friday , Judge Kathleen Williams approved a temporary restraining order to prevent the four men behind the church from hawking the elixir .
In reality @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — “ a powerful bleaching agent , ” as the FDA warned last year .
Nonetheless , the church ’ s websites advertise “ sacramental Dosing for Coronavirus ” and feature a full page of testimonials about the bleach mixture ’ s effectiveness against the virus .
“ I was really skeptical of MMS but my little autistic brother has been taking it since he was like 3 and he ’ s 11 now and every time he got sick he ’ d get over it within like a day no matter the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on a church website .
“ He never got sick from it or anything so I decided to give it a try and boy oh boy I was surprised it really does work.
” “ It was a terrible time but it worked no matter what anyone says it really works , ” the purportedly happy customer added .
The Florida men — Mark , Joseph , Jordan and Jonathan Grenon — are part of a larger group that was one of the early popularizers of bleach as a “ cure ” for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ church ’ s founders , Jim Humble , was described by Newsweek in 2018 as a former Scientologist .
He ’ s also a former gold prospector , ABC News reported in 2016 , in a story that called Genesis II Church officials “ the high priests of snake oil.
” The oddly structured organization — “ a free church under common law ” that is “ not under commercial law , ” its website proclaims — is devoted to the bleach concoction , which has dangerously grown in popularity in recent years @ @ @ @ @ @ @ A reggae jingle at the top of a recent online broadcast from the church sang the praises of the bleach mixture .
“ It ’ s a thorn in the side of corrupt institutions , ” the song goes .
“ A drop of chlorine dioxide starts a health revolution.
” Underneath the ensuing 150-minute conversation , text on the church ’ s website blares : “ G2Voice Broadcast # 182 : The Coronavirus is curable !
Do you believe it ?
You better !
” According to the complaint against church ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” — Mark , Joseph , Jordan and Jonathan Grenon — the religious leaders really just label and distribute MMS .
Despite a letter from the FDA and FTC last week ordering them to stop advertising the bleach as a COVID-19 cure , Genesis II Church kept going .
“ We take donations , we don ’ t sell anything , ” Mark Grenon said of the FDA letter on a recent “ G2Voice ” broadcast .
“ How dare you call our sacraments fraudulent !
” he added .
In a letter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Grenon essentially claimed his organization was exempt from laws regulating medical claims , arguing its distribution of “ sacraments ” was a matter of religious freedom .
“ ‘ Branding ?
’ We are NOT commercial code !
” he wrote .
“ NOTE : You are trying to put us in your box and try and get us under your authority.
” “ When warned by authorities that their conduct was unlawful , Defendants responded with open defiance , explicitly avowing that they need not — and will ‘ never ’ — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
As of Friday , the advertisements for MMS as a COVID-19 treatment were still live on Genesis II Church ’ s websites .

A federal judge in Florida ordered a “church” hawking bleach as a holy sacrament to stop selling it as a COVID-19 cure.
“Genesis II Church of Health and Healing” has in recent weeks marketed an industrial bleach concoction long a mainstay in anti-vaccine circles — “Miracle Mineral Solution,” or MMS — as a coronavirus prevention and treatment elixir, prosecutors alleged in a complaint Thursday.
On Friday, Judge Kathleen Williams approved a temporary restraining order to prevent the four men behind the church from hawking the elixir.
In reality, most MMS is just chlorine dioxide — “a powerful bleaching agent,” as the FDA warned last year.
Nonetheless, the church’s websites advertise “sacramental Dosing for Coronavirus” and feature a full page of testimonials about the bleach mixture’s effectiveness against the virus.
“I was really skeptical of MMS but my little autistic brother has been taking it since he was like 3 and he’s 11 now and every time he got sick he’d get over it within like a day no matter the severity,” read one unsigned testimonial on a church website. “He never got sick from it or anything so I decided to give it a try and boy oh boy I was surprised it really does work.”
“It was a terrible time but it worked no matter what anyone says it really works,” the purportedly happy customer added.
The Florida men — Mark, Joseph, Jordan and Jonathan Grenon — are part of a larger group that was one of the early popularizers of bleach as a “cure” for dozens of conditions. One of the church’s founders, Jim Humble, was described by Newsweek in 2018 as a former Scientologist. He’s also a former gold prospector, ABC News reported in 2016, in a story that called Genesis II Church officials “the high priests of snake oil.”
The oddly structured organization — “a free church under common law” that is “not under commercial law,” its website proclaims — is devoted to the bleach concoction, which has dangerously grown in popularity in recent years as a home remedy for autism.
A reggae jingle at the top of a recent online broadcast from the church sang the praises of the bleach mixture.
“It’s a thorn in the side of corrupt institutions,” the song goes. “A drop of chlorine dioxide starts a health revolution.”
Underneath the ensuing 150-minute conversation, text on the church’s website blares: “G2Voice Broadcast #182: The Coronavirus is curable! Do you believe it? You better!”
According to the complaint against church’s “archbishop” and “bishops” — Mark, Joseph, Jordan and Jonathan Grenon — the religious leaders really just label and distribute MMS.
Despite a letter from the FDA and FTC last week ordering them to stop advertising the bleach as a COVID-19 cure, Genesis II Church kept going.
“We take donations, we don’t sell anything,” Mark Grenon said of the FDA letter on a recent “G2Voice” broadcast. “How dare you call our sacraments fraudulent!” he added.
In a letter back to the FDA and FTC, Grenon essentially claimed his organization was exempt from laws regulating medical claims, arguing its distribution of “sacraments” was a matter of religious freedom.
“‘Branding?’ We are NOT commercial code!” he wrote. “NOTE: You are trying to put us in your box and try and get us under your authority.”
Prosecutors didn’t appreciate that response.
“When warned by authorities that their conduct was unlawful, Defendants responded with open defiance, explicitly avowing that they need not — and will ‘never’ — obey the law,” they wrote.
As of Friday, the advertisements for MMS as a COVID-19 treatment were still live on Genesis II Church’s websites.


talkingpointsmemo--2020-04-17--WATCH LIVE: Trump Holds Coronavirus Briefing At 6 PM ET

WASHINGTON , DC - APRIL 06 : U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters following a meeting of his coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ Press Briefing Room at the White House on April 6 , 2020 in Washington , @ @ @ @ @ , DC - APRIL 06 : U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters following a @ @ @ @ @ force in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on April 6 , @ @ @ @ @ .
Infected with COVID-19 , British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was admitted intensive care at @ @ @ @ @ as the U.S. death toll surpassed 10,000 .
( Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images )

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 06: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters following a meeting of his coronavirus task force in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on April 6, 2020 in Washington, DC. I...
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 06: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters following a meeting of his coronavirus task force in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on April 6, 2020 in Washington, DC. Infected with COVID-19, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was admitted intensive care at a hospital in London Monday as the U.S. death toll surpassed 10,000. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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