buzzfeed--2020-06-22--The FBI Used Its Most Advanced Spy Plane To Watch Black Lives Matter Protests

The aircraft is normally used to provide surveillance for big federal drug and gang busts — but flew over the Black Lives Matter protests in DC earlier this month , as well as over Baltimore during the protests following Freddie Gray 's death .
Shortly before 11 p.m. on Monday , June 1 , just hours after federal police used tear gas and batons to clear protesters from the front of the White House for President Donald Trump ’ s Bible-wielding photo op , a Cessna Citation jet took off from Manassas Regional Airport in Virginia .
Until about 1.30 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ circle around central Washington , DC , surveilling the protests , flight tracking records show .
The aircraft is a one-of-a-kind spy plane operated by the FBI , fitted with sophisticated cameras for long-range , persistent video surveillance , day or night .
It repeated its late-night circling around the city as protests continued the following two nights , and made a shorter flight on June 6 .
Normally , this elite spy plane is deployed for some of the FBI ’ s most important surveillance missions , providing eyes in the sky @ @ @ @ @ @ @ violent gang members .
But this isn ’ t the first time it has flown over Black Lives Matter protests : A BuzzFeed News review of flight tracking records has established that the same aircraft circled above Baltimore in April and May of 2015 , during the unrest that followed the death of Freddie Gray from severe injuries sustained in police custody .
FBI surveillance of protests , even if they happen after a curfew has been declared , is controversial because the agency says it does not monitor activity protected by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now been well documented that a number of federal agencies wildly overreacted to protests in DC in deeply troubling ways , ” Nathan Freed Wessler , an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union ’ s Project on Speech , Privacy , and Technology , told BuzzFeed News .
“ To learn that the FBI deployed its state-of-the-art surveillance plane to watch these historic protests raises additional troubling questions.
” The FBI has a fleet of more than 120 surveillance aircraft , covertly registered to fictitious companies .
In 2016 , BuzzFeed News @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by these planes .
“ It should come as no surprise that the FBI uses planes to follow terrorists , spies , and serious criminals , ” said then–deputy director Mark Giuliano in June 2015 , in a rare public statement on the agency ’ s aviation program .
“ We have an obligation to follow those people who want to hurt our country and its citizens , and we will continue to do so . ''
The vast majority of the FBI ’ s planes are small , propeller-driven Cessnas , according @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the agency ’ s front companies .
The jet that flew over BLM protests is the only aircraft of its type operated by known FBI fronts .
It is registered to the National Aircraft Leasing Corporation , identified as an FBI alias in the 2012 book Intel Wars , an analysis of the “ war on terror ” written by the former intelligence analyst Matthew Aid .
The address given on the plane ’ s registration documents is a UPS Store in Greenville , Delaware .
Other FAA documents , submitted to verify @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , reveal how it has been outfitted for advanced surveillance .
It was fitted with video cameras in 2006 , by a company called Alpha Research & Technology .
Photos on the firm ’ s website show the plane and the two-person , three-screen console used to control its surveillance cameras from inside the main cabin .
The plane now carries a Wescam MX-20 steerable camera turret , described by its manufacturer as ideal for high-altitude , persistent surveillance .
It can monitor targets day and night , see through haze , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ planes carry less capable cameras requiring the aircraft to fly at altitudes of around 5,000 feet , where they would more easily be spotted from the ground .
Those planes watch suspects in FBI investigations in the same region as their home airport .
The Citation jet , by contrast , is deployed across the entire nation , and often circles its targets at altitudes of 15,000 feet or more .
During the flights above Washington , DC , in early June , it flew at between 13,000 and 17,500 feet .
BuzzFeed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ plane going back to the start of 2015 from the website Flightradar24 , linking several of its flights to high-profile raids on drug traffickers and violent gangs .
These included major drug trafficking busts in Puerto Rico in 2018 and 2019 , drug and money laundering arrests in northern Alabama in October 2019 , and the capture of members of prisoner-led gangs in Woodland , Northern California , in February 2018 .
But the plane ’ s recent outing above DC is not the first time it has watched BLM protests .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an unidentified Cessna Citation had circled above Baltimore during the unrest triggered by the death of Freddie Gray .
An FBI propeller-driven Cessna was also tracked circling over the city at that time .
Through a Freedom of Information request to the FBI , the ACLU later obtained flight and evidence logs from the agency ’ s flights over Baltimore , plus video surveillance footage recorded by its planes .
In 2015 , the FBI Cessna Citation ’ s identity was masked on public flight tracking websites , but from the Flightradar24 data @ @ @ @ @ @ @ same plane that flew over the BLM protests in DC in June following George Floyd 's death also conducted surveillance in Baltimore after Freddie Gray was killed .
Although there had been violent clashes and looting in the days before the FBI planes were deployed above Baltimore , more than 18 hours of video footage subsequently released by the agency showed peaceful marches and people moving around on the streets at night .
In 2015 , the Baltimore Police Department asked for the FBI ’ s help in monitoring unrest in the city @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said it did not request the flights above the nation ’ s capital in early June .
“ MPD did not request FBI aerial support , ” department spokesperson Alaina Gertz told BuzzFeed News by email .
The surveillance flights over DC began the day after another branch of the Department of Justice , the Drug Enforcement Administration , was given the authority to “ conduct covert surveillance ” and collect intelligence on people protesting the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police .
The FBI can also equip its planes with devices @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cellphone tower and can be used to locate and track people via their phones .
But Heath Hardman , a lawyer who used to operate similar devices for the US Marine Corps , could find no evidence of antennas that would be used for this purpose in the FAA documents for the Citation jet , and said that a plane tracking phones would be unlikely to fly so high .
“ You want to be as low as you can without being detected , ” he told BuzzFeed News .
The FBI declined @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about the evidence collected by the plane , and whether it conducted any forms of surveillance other than video monitoring .
“ The FBI is supporting our state , local , and federal law enforcement partners with maintaining public safety in the communities we serve , ” the agency responded in a written statement .
“ Our efforts are focused on identifying , investigating , and disrupting individuals that are inciting violence and engaging in criminal activity .
The FBI respects those who are exercising their First Amendment rights , including the right @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s Cessna jet wasn ’ t the only sophisticated government spy plane to fly over DC in early June .
On June 3 and 4 , an RC-26 surveillance aircraft operated by the Air National Guard flew in tighter circles at altitudes of less than 7,000 feet .
These planes , like the FBI ’ s jet , are commonly used in counter–drug trafficking operations .
The Air National Guard told Air Force magazine that these flights were “ responding to a District of Columbia National Guard request to provide airborne situational @ @ @ @ @ @ @ critical infrastructure within the District.
” The Air Force Inspector General is now investigating whether this aircraft improperly monitored protesters , the New York Times reported on June 18 .
“ It would be inappropriate to comment further at this time due to the ongoing nature of the investigation , ” National Guard spokesperson Wayne Hall told BuzzFeed News by email .

Normally, this elite spy plane is deployed for some of the FBI’s most important surveillance missions, providing eyes in the sky when federal agents arrest drug traffickers or violent gang members. But this isn’t the first time it has flown over Black Lives Matter protests: A BuzzFeed News review of flight tracking records has established that the same aircraft circled above Baltimore in April and May of 2015, during the unrest that followed the death of Freddie Gray from severe injuries sustained in police custody.
FBI surveillance of protests, even if they happen after a curfew has been declared, is controversial because the agency says it does not monitor activity protected by the First Amendment.
“It’s now been well documented that a number of federal agencies wildly overreacted to protests in DC in deeply troubling ways,” Nathan Freed Wessler, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union’s Project on Speech, Privacy, and Technology, told BuzzFeed News. “To learn that the FBI deployed its state-of-the-art surveillance plane to watch these historic protests raises additional troubling questions.”
The FBI has a fleet of more than 120 surveillance aircraft, covertly registered to fictitious companies. In 2016, BuzzFeed News analyzed more than four months of flights by these planes.
“It should come as no surprise that the FBI uses planes to follow terrorists, spies, and serious criminals,” said then–deputy director Mark Giuliano in June 2015, in a rare public statement on the agency’s aviation program. “We have an obligation to follow those people who want to hurt our country and its citizens, and we will continue to do so."
The vast majority of the FBI’s planes are small, propeller-driven Cessnas, according to Federal Aviation Administration registration records for the agency’s front companies. The jet that flew over BLM protests is the only aircraft of its type operated by known FBI fronts. It is registered to the National Aircraft Leasing Corporation, identified as an FBI alias in the 2012 book Intel Wars, an analysis of the “war on terror” written by the former intelligence analyst Matthew Aid. The address given on the plane’s registration documents is a UPS Store in Greenville, Delaware.
Other FAA documents, submitted to verify that the plane is safe to fly, reveal how it has been outfitted for advanced surveillance.
It was fitted with video cameras in 2006, by a company called Alpha Research & Technology. Photos on the firm’s website show the plane and the two-person, three-screen console used to control its surveillance cameras from inside the main cabin. The plane now carries a Wescam MX-20 steerable camera turret, described by its manufacturer as ideal for high-altitude, persistent surveillance. It can monitor targets day and night, see through haze, and provide infrared thermal imaging.


buzzfeed--2020-06-22--Black Lives Matter Activists Say They're Being Silenced By Facebook

“ Every single one of them , at the same moment , was starting to get notifications from Instagram that any posts that had my name , that linked to my work , or even just had pictures of me had been flagged and taken down because they violated community standards , ” Doran , an Oakland-based anti-racism activist and educator , told BuzzFeed News .
Louiza Doran was leading an anti-racism workshop in Zoom on June 3 when she noticed the roughly 12 women participating were making strange faces .
Doran said Facebook prevented her account from going live @ @ @ @ @ @ @ comments — and it was n't the first time .
“ Black folks are talking about their experiences in this country right now , and they are systematically being silenced , ” she said .
A spokesperson for the social network told BuzzFeed News the action against Doran ’ s Facebook and Instagram accounts was temporary and unrelated to her content , saying a technical issue caused its automated systems to flag the URL of her personal site as spam .
“ The voices speaking out against racial injustice and systemic racism are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ actively trying to elevate them , not silence them , ” said Joe Osborne , a Facebook spokesperson .
“ These examples were enforcement mistakes , and they were certainly not intentional.
” On Thursday , the company announced $ 200 million in additional funding to support Black-owned businesses and organizations , and said the Facebook app will add a section , called Lift Black Voices , to highlight stories from Black people .
Doran was unconvinced by the company ’ s explanation and deeply skeptical of its commitment to racial equality .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ choice but to continue using its products .
“ I 'm in a little bit of a heartbreaking catch-22 , ” she said .
Black Americans have long expressed frustration that Facebook wrongly flags or removes posts discussing racism or white supremacy .
That puts them in a difficult position .
Black activists who spoke to BuzzFeed News said they recognized the power of Facebook and Instagram to mobilize support and organize , but they did n't trust the company .
“ I do fundamentally believe that Facebook and now Instagram exist as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to uphold oppressive narratives and content of the farthest right ideologies , ” Doran said .
Facebook is “ asleep at the wheel , ” Brandi Collins-Dexter , senior campaign director at Color of Change , a nonprofit digital racial justice organization , told BuzzFeed News .
“ When you have a company that has been so reckless time and time again , you have millions of people that are impacted .
That has chilling impactions for free speech to actually be realized.
” Color of Change has collected hundreds of reports of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ removed or acted upon by Facebook in recent weeks .
“ We are reaching out on issues of racism and police violence time and time again and are being shut down , ” she said .
“ It does call into question who is making the decisions.
” One person who has raised concerns is Carolyn Wysinger , the board president of San Francisco Pride , whom USA Today featured in a 2019 article about Black activists on Facebook .
Since then , the social network has invited her to events focused on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one that brought Black online influencers together for a roundtable discussion .

Doran said Facebook prevented her account from going live and removed some of her posts and comments — and it wasn't the first time.
“Black folks are talking about their experiences in this country right now, and they are systematically being silenced,” she said.
A spokesperson for the social network told BuzzFeed News the action against Doran’s Facebook and Instagram accounts was temporary and unrelated to her content, saying a technical issue caused its automated systems to flag the URL of her personal site as spam.
“The voices speaking out against racial injustice and systemic racism are critical right now, and we are actively trying to elevate them, not silence them,” said Joe Osborne, a Facebook spokesperson. “These examples were enforcement mistakes, and they were certainly not intentional.”
On Thursday, the company announced $200 million in additional funding to support Black-owned businesses and organizations, and said the Facebook app will add a section, called Lift Black Voices, to highlight stories from Black people.
Doran was unconvinced by the company’s explanation and deeply skeptical of its commitment to racial equality. But she also felt she had no choice but to continue using its products.
“I'm in a little bit of a heartbreaking catch-22,” she said.
Black Americans have long expressed frustration that Facebook wrongly flags or removes posts discussing racism or white supremacy. That puts them in a difficult position. Black activists who spoke to BuzzFeed News said they recognized the power of Facebook and Instagram to mobilize support and organize, but they didn't trust the company.
“I do fundamentally believe that Facebook and now Instagram exist as a tool of domination. They exist to uphold oppressive narratives and content of the farthest right ideologies,” Doran said.
Facebook is “asleep at the wheel,” Brandi Collins-Dexter, senior campaign director at Color of Change, a nonprofit digital racial justice organization, told BuzzFeed News. “When you have a company that has been so reckless time and time again, you have millions of people that are impacted. That has chilling impactions for free speech to actually be realized.”
Color of Change has collected hundreds of reports of Black Lives Matter and anti-racist content being removed or acted upon by Facebook in recent weeks. “We are reaching out on issues of racism and police violence time and time again and are being shut down,” she said. “It does call into question who is making the decisions.”
One person who has raised concerns is Carolyn Wysinger, the board president of San Francisco Pride, whom USA Today featured in a 2019 article about Black activists on Facebook. Since then, the social network has invited her to events focused on civil rights and content moderation, including one that brought Black online influencers together for a roundtable discussion.


buzzfeed--2020-06-22--Facebook Removed Trump Campaign Ads That Invoked Nazi Symbols

But one lawmaker had more tough questions for the company .
In a House Intelligence hearing Thursday , Nathaniel Gleicher , Facebook 's head of cybersecurity , addressed President Donald Trump 's campaign ads that used an upside-down red triangle reminiscent of a Nazi symbol alongside fearful messaging about anti-fascism activists .
“ What sanctions will you take against the Trump campaign ?
” Rep. Eric Swalwell asked .
“ Because this is not the first time an ad has been taken down .
I believe it ’ s the third time.
” On Thursday , Facebook removed the ad @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Nazis used a red triangle to mark prisoners in concentration camps .
Kandy Zabka , a Texas-based cyber strategist and owner of Komfort Linux , said that she reported the Trump campaign page on Wednesday after seeing the same red triangle ad that Facebook eventually took down .
Zabka ’ s report was reviewed and Facebook initially determined that it doesn ’ t go against community standards , according to screenshots provided to BuzzFeed News .
The report was updated Thursday afternoon to say that the offending piece of content was removed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment .
As it came under fire , the Trump campaign defended its use of the image , saying on Twitter that the triangle was both an emoji and a “ symbol widely used by Antifa.
” The campaign posted an image of an upside-down red triangle with the words “ antifa ” scrawled across it as proof .
But when NBC reporter Brandy Zadrozny , unable to find it through both regular and reverse-image searches , asked for the source of the image @ @ @ @ @ @ @ T-shirt store purportedly run by a man in Spain .
As the removal was unfolding , representatives from Facebook , Google , and Twitter were testifying before the House Committee on Intelligence , which was holding a hearing on election security .
Toward the end of the hearing , Rep. Swalwell , a Democrat from California , asked Gleicher about Facebook ’ s removal of the ads .
Gleicher repeated Facebook ’ s statement on hate symbols not being allowed on the platform , saying the company made an exception for discussion or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ allow someone to put up a symbol to condemn it or to discuss it , but in a situation where we do n't see either of those we don ’ t allow it on the platform and we will remove it , ” Gleicher said .
“ That ’ s what we saw in this case in this ad , and anywhere this symbol is used we will take the same action .
So we ’ ll be consistent in enforcing wherever either our systems identify those symbols and as you ’ d @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we get it within our system so we can look for other instances where it might appear .
So we can find and remove it automatically.
” Swalwell also asked how many symbols a campaign would have to use before its page and account are removed from the platform .
Gleicher was unable to respond , saying his focus is not on ad policies , but pledged to follow up .
Facebook has previously removed an ad from the Trump campaign asking “ Should we deport illegals ?
” because it used fake @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ads in March for violating policies around misleading content about the US census after initially allowing them to run .

In a House Intelligence hearing Thursday, Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook's head of cybersecurity, addressed President Donald Trump's campaign ads that used an upside-down red triangle reminiscent of a Nazi symbol alongside fearful messaging about anti-fascism activists.
“What sanctions will you take against the Trump campaign?” Rep. Eric Swalwell asked. “Because this is not the first time an ad has been taken down. I believe it’s the third time.”
On Thursday, Facebook removed the ad after the Washington Post pointed out that the Nazis used a red triangle to mark prisoners in concentration camps.
Kandy Zabka, a Texas-based cyber strategist and owner of Komfort Linux, said that she reported the Trump campaign page on Wednesday after seeing the same red triangle ad that Facebook eventually took down.
Zabka’s report was reviewed and Facebook initially determined that it doesn’t go against community standards, according to screenshots provided to BuzzFeed News. The report was updated Thursday afternoon to say that the offending piece of content was removed, but the page remained intact. Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment.


buzzfeed--2020-06-23--Ariana Grande, For One, Is Super Excited That Gyms Have Reopened In California

When Ariana stopped by the gym today , masks had not yet been required inside of them .
Just earlier @ @ @ @ @ and former California governor ) , Arnold Schwarzenegger , visited an LA gym just to @ @ @ @ @ out that masks were n't obligatory , according to CBSLA and KCAL-TV news reporter Tina @ @

When Ariana stopped by the gym today, masks had not yet been required inside of them. Just earlier today, another celebrity (and former California governor), Arnold Schwarzenegger , visited an LA gym just to turn back around upon finding out that masks weren't obligatory, according to CBSLA and KCAL-TV news reporter Tina Patel.


buzzfeed--2020-06-23--Women Are Playing "Never Have I Ever" Using Female Realities And It's A Terrifying Truth

Here are the `` put a finger down '' experiences she outlines in her video : – Put a finger down if you 've been drugged .
– Put a finger down if your friends have been drugged .
– Put a finger down if you 've been followed .
– Put a finger down if you walk to your car with your keys or pepper spray as a weapon .
– Put a finger down if you check your backseat and lock your doors the second you get inside your car .
– Put a finger down if you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Put a finger down if you did something with a man that you did n't want to do because you were scared to say no for your own safety .
– Put a finger down if you 've experienced something really scary or even illegal and you were scared to report it because you did n't think anybody would listen .
– Put a finger down if when you hear or see a man running behind you , you freak out .
– Put a finger down if something bad happened to you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you thought would protect you did n't .

Here are the "put a finger down" experiences she outlines in her video:
– Put a finger down if you've been drugged.
– Put a finger down if your friends have been drugged.
– Put a finger down if you've been followed.
– Put a finger down if you walk to your car with your keys or pepper spray as a weapon.
– Put a finger down if you check your backseat and lock your doors the second you get inside your car.
– Put a finger down if you've been sexually touched inappropriately.
– Put a finger down if you did something with a man that you didn't want to do because you were scared to say no for your own safety.
– Put a finger down if you've experienced something really scary or even illegal and you were scared to report it because you didn't think anybody would listen.
– Put a finger down if when you hear or see a man running behind you, you freak out.
– Put a finger down if something bad happened to you and the men who were around that you thought would protect you didn't.


buzzfeed--2020-06-23--New York Police Will Start Sting Operations Against Illegal Fireworks

MINNEAPOLIS , MN - MAY 29 : Fireworks explode in the sky over Lake Street on May 29 , 2020 in Minneapolis , Minnesota .
Protests have been ongoing in the state and around the country since George Floyd 's death while in police custody on Monday .
( Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images ) On Tuesday morning , New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the city would be forming an illegal fireworks task force , which will involve over 40 law enforcement officers conducting undercover buys and sting operations that target people selling fireworks in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of “ 10 officers from NYPD Intelligence Bureau , 12 FDNY Fire Marshals and 20 members of the Sheriff ’ s Bureau of Criminal Investigation , ” according to a press release .
De Blasio said in the press conference that the task force would operate both in and outside of the city and target “ suppliers , distributors and possessors.
” “ This is not just a quality of life problem and a noise problem — and it 's certainly that , and in all five boroughs , we take that seriously— @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” de Blasio said .
“ We ’ re going to start a huge sting operation to go and get these illegal fireworks at the base .
Meaning , everywhere they ’ re being sold around New York City , and even where they ’ re being sold in surrounding states that we know of flowing into New York.
” The press release also said that the FDNY would launch “ a public safety campaign ” to “ illustrate the dangers of illegal fireworks.
” “ We need to make sure that young @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some of it ’ s adults too — that illegal fireworks are not only illegal , but they can be dangerous , ” de Blasio said .
“ We need to get that message across , and that ’ s what we intend to do.
” Although fireworks are a typical part of Brooklyn summers , there has been a spike in reports of fireworks throughout the city compared to previous years .
According to 311 data , there were 1,680 complaints about illegal fireworks in New York between June 8 and June @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the equivalent period last year .
De Blasio 's response comes amid widespread demonstrations against police brutality and calls by activists to defund the NYPD .
Police have rounded up , pushed , and shoved protesters with batons , and arrested people en masse for violating an 8 p.m. curfew that was in effect for a week .
Earlier this month , the NYPD drove a police van into a crowd of protesters .
When asked about it , de Blasio said that the police demonstrated “ tremendous restraint.
” There have already @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fireworks .
In Flatbush on June 14 , after a few hours of people setting off fireworks , dozens of officers arrived in riot gear , closed off a street , and took away at least one person in handcuffs .
De Blasio ’ s announcement indicated that policing tactics like these could continue , and perhaps escalate .
The mayor told the media that the task force would focus on the `` big fish '' that are selling the biggest amount of fireworks .
“ Within the city , we ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , not focused on the kid on the corner , ” de Blasio said .
“ We ’ re focused on the people that are really profiting and really distributing a lot of fireworks.
” Have you witnessed police responding to fireworks in New York City ?
You can contact the author of this piece securely at caroline.haskins @ buzzfeed.com or on Signal at +1 ( 785 ) 813-1084 .
Joe VanOudenhove III — owner of Sky King Fireworks in Pennsylvania , whose fireworks have been used in Brooklyn — told BuzzFeed News @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the fireworks , although he thought that the coronavirus had forced people to be cooped up for a long time , and they ’ re eager to find ways to entertain themselves on a budget .
“ The biggest thing is that there ’ s no entertainment , no sporting events , no nothing , nothing that involves large crowds , ” VanOudenhove said .
“ We ’ ve had people drive from New Jersey and New York to Erie , Pennsylvania just to get out of the house for a few @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” VanOudenhove also said that fireworks stores in Pennsylvania — the closest state to New York where it is legal to buy fireworks — were closed on Memorial Day Weekend , typically a high-volume weekend , leaving them with larger inventories than normal when they opened on June 4 .
He also noted that public events that normally have professional-grade fireworks , like baseball games , have been cancelled due to COVID-19 .
Selling professional-grade fireworks is a huge source of revenue , so stores like his have had to find ways to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ result , stores like his have been aggressively marketing consumer-grade fireworks , often with sales .
VanOudenhove said that he has been offering buy-one-get-two promotions rather than buy-one-get-one promotions .
He was expecting sales to be low , but in certain weeks , he said , sales have actually been up between 50 and 200 % year-over-year .
“ No matter who you talked to , no one could have predicted this , the uptick in sales , ” VanOudenhove said .
“ We were just trying to figure it out .
”

On Tuesday morning, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the city would be forming an illegal fireworks task force, which will involve over 40 law enforcement officers conducting undercover buys and sting operations that target people selling fireworks in the city.
The task force will consist of “10 officers from NYPD Intelligence Bureau, 12 FDNY Fire Marshals and 20 members of the Sheriff’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation,” according to a press release. De Blasio said in the press conference that the task force would operate both in and outside of the city and target “suppliers, distributors and possessors.”
“This is not just a quality of life problem and a noise problem — and it's certainly that, and in all five boroughs, we take that seriously— but it can also be dangerous,” de Blasio said. “We’re going to start a huge sting operation to go and get these illegal fireworks at the base. Meaning, everywhere they’re being sold around New York City, and even where they’re being sold in surrounding states that we know of flowing into New York.”
The press release also said that the FDNY would launch “a public safety campaign” to “illustrate the dangers of illegal fireworks.”
“We need to make sure that young people know, all people know — some of it’s adults too — that illegal fireworks are not only illegal, but they can be dangerous,” de Blasio said. “We need to get that message across, and that’s what we intend to do.”
Although fireworks are a typical part of Brooklyn summers, there has been a spike in reports of fireworks throughout the city compared to previous years. According to 311 data, there were 1,680 complaints about illegal fireworks in New York between June 8 and June 15, compared to just 12 for the equivalent period last year.
De Blasio's response comes amid widespread demonstrations against police brutality and calls by activists to defund the NYPD. Police have rounded up, pushed, and shoved protesters, sometimes using batons, and arrested people en masse for violating an 8 p.m. curfew that was in effect for a week. Earlier this month, the NYPD drove a police van into a crowd of protesters. When asked about it, de Blasio said that the police had demonstrated “tremendous restraint.”
There have already been reports of aggressive police responses to fireworks. In Flatbush on June 14, after a few hours of people setting off fireworks, dozens of officers arrived in riot gear, closed off a street, and took away at least one person in handcuffs. De Blasio’s announcement indicated that policing tactics like these could continue, and perhaps escalate.
The mayor told the media that the task force would focus on the "big fish" that are selling the biggest amount of fireworks. “Within the city, we’re gonna start on the biggest operations, not focused on the kid on the corner,” de Blasio said. “We’re focused on the people that are really profiting and really distributing a lot of fireworks.”
Have you witnessed police responding to fireworks in New York City? You can contact the author of this piece securely at caroline.haskins@buzzfeed.com or on Signal at +1 (785) 813-1084.
Joe VanOudenhove III — co-owner of Sky King Fireworks in Pennsylvania, whose fireworks have been used in Brooklyn — told BuzzFeed News that there’s no single explanation for the fireworks, although he thought that the coronavirus had forced people to be cooped up for a long time, and they’re eager to find ways to entertain themselves on a budget.
“The biggest thing is that there’s no entertainment, no sporting events, no nothing, nothing that involves large crowds,” VanOudenhove said. “We’ve had people drive from New Jersey and New York to Erie, Pennsylvania, just to get out of the house for a few hours and spend $150 on fireworks.”
VanOudenhove also said that fireworks stores in Pennsylvania — the closest state to New York where it is legal to buy fireworks — were closed on Memorial Day weekend, typically a high-volume weekend, leaving them with larger inventories than normal when they opened on June 4. He also noted that public events that normally have professional-grade fireworks, like baseball games, have been canceled due to COVID-19. Selling professional-grade fireworks is a huge source of revenue, so stores like his have had to find ways to make up the losses.
As a result, these stores have been aggressively marketing consumer-grade fireworks, often with sales. VanOudenhove said that he has been offering buy-one-get-two promotions rather than buy-one-get-one promotions. He was expecting sales to be low, but in certain weeks, he said, sales have actually been up between 50% and 200% year-over-year.
“No matter who you talked to, no one could have predicted this, the uptick in sales,” VanOudenhove said. “We were just trying to figure it out.”


buzzfeed--2020-06-23--Here’s Trump Trashing 12 Of His “Best People” Who Then Spoke Out Against Him

From Jeff Sessions to John Bolton , the president has insisted he only hires `` the best people . ''
He tends to change his mind and insult them when they leave .
April 19 , 2018 : `` I think he 's going to be a fantastic representative of our team .
He 's highly respected by everybody in this room . ''
June 18 , 2020 : `` Wacko John Bolton ’ s 'exceedingly tedious ' ( New York Times ) book is made up of lies & fake stories .
Said all good about me , in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him .
A disgruntled boring fool who only wanted to go to war .
Never had a clue , was ostracized & happily dumped .
What a dope ! ''
Nov. 23 , 2016 : `` I know the guy , he 's a decent guy , he 's a very smart guy .
He 's done a good job . ''
Jan. 3 , 2018 : `` Steve Bannon has nothing to do with me or my Presidency .
When he was fired , he not only lost his job , he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ staffer who worked for me after I had already won the nomination by defeating seventeen candidates , often described as the most talented field ever assembled in the Republican party .
`` Now that he is on his own , Steve is learning that winning isn ’ t as easy as I make it look .
Steve had very little to do with our historic victory , which was delivered by the forgotten men and women of this country .
Yet Steve had everything to do with the loss of a Senate seat @ @ @ @ @ @ @ years by Republicans .
Steve doesn ’ t represent my base — he ’ s only in it for himself .
`` Steve pretends to be at war with the media , which he calls the opposition party , yet he spent his time at the White House leaking false information to the media to make himself seem far more important than he was .
It is the only thing he does well .
Steve was rarely in a one-on-one meeting with me and only pretends to have had influence to fool a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clue , whom he helped write phony books . ''
Feb. 8 , 2017 : `` General Kelly is an extremely talented man and a very good man -- now Secretary Kelly , Homeland Security .
...
He 's a great man . ''
Feb. 13 , 2020 : `` When I terminated John Kelly , which I couldn ’ t do fast enough , he knew full well that he was way over his head .
Being Chief of Staff just wasn ’ t for him .
He came in with a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but like so many X ’ s , he misses the action & just can ’ t keep his mouth shut . ''
Jan. 27 , 2017 : `` Secretary Mattis devoted his life to serving his country .
He 's a man of honor , a man of devotion , and a man of total action . ''
June 3 , 2020 : `` Probably the only thing Barack Obama & I have in common is that we both had the honor of firing Jim Mattis , the world ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his letter of resignation , & felt great about it .
His nickname was 'Chaos ' , which I didn ’ t like , & changed to 'Mad Dog ' ... His primary strength was not military , but rather personal public relations .
I gave him a new life , things to do , and battles to win , but he seldom 'brought home the bacon ' .
I didn ’ t like his 'leadership ' style or much else about him , and many others agree .
Glad he is gone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` He has devoted his life to the cause of justice and believes deeply that all people are equals in the eyes of the law — and very importantly for Jeff and for so many of us , also in the eyes of God .
`` He ’ s a man of integrity , a man of principle , and a man of total , utter resolve .
You just got a little witnessing of that .
That resolve is what we need right now .
America faces many challenges .
We face @ @ @ @ @ @ @ threat of deadly terror .
And it ’ s not getting better , but it will get better very soon .
It ’ s going to get a lot better .
`` These dangerous times require a determined attorney general , which is what Jeff is . ''
May 24 , 2020 : `` Jeff Sessions was a disaster as attorney general .
Should have never been attorney general , was not qualified .
He 's not mentally qualified to be attorney general .
He was the biggest problem . ''
April 12 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to acknowledge the great work being done by our Secretary of State , Rex Tillerson , to strengthen the NATO Alliance , as well as the Secretary 's trip to Moscow to promote the security interest of the United States and its allies .
He did a terrific job .
Just watched parts of it — an absolutely terrific job . ''
May 23 , 2019 : `` Rex Tillerson ... did n't have the mental capacity needed .
He was dumb as a rock and I could n't get rid of him @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hell . ''
July 21 , 2017 : “ Anthony is a person I have great respect for , and he will be an important addition to this Administration .
He has been a great supporter and will now help implement key aspects of our agenda while leading the communications team . ''
Aug. 19 , 2019 : `` Anthony Scaramucci is a highly unstable 'nut job ' who was with other candidates in the primary who got shellacked , & then unfortunately wheedled his way into my campaign .
I barely knew @ @ @ @ @ @ @ incompetence-made a fool of himself , bad on TV .
Abused staff , got fired .
Wrote a very nice book about me just recently .
Now the book is a lie ?
Said his wife was driving him crazy , 'something big ' was happening with her .
Getting divorced .
He was a mental wreck .
We didn ’ t want him around .
Now Fake News puts him on like he was my buddy ! ''
April 12 , 2017 : `` I have confidence in him . ''
April @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is a proven LEAKER & LIAR .
Virtually everyone in Washington thought he should be fired for the terrible job he did-until he was , in fact , fired .
He leaked CLASSIFIED information , for which he should be prosecuted .
He lied to Congress under OATH .
He is a weak and untruthful slimeball who was , as time has proven , a terrible Director of the FBI .
His handling of the Crooked Hillary Clinton case , and the events surrounding it , will go down as one of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It was my great honor to fire James Comey ! ''

Nov. 23, 2016: "I know the guy, he's a decent guy, he's a very smart guy. He's done a good job."
Jan. 3, 2018: "Steve Bannon has nothing to do with me or my Presidency. When he was fired, he not only lost his job, he lost his mind. Steve was a staffer who worked for me after I had already won the nomination by defeating seventeen candidates, often described as the most talented field ever assembled in the Republican party.
"Now that he is on his own, Steve is learning that winning isn’t as easy as I make it look. Steve had very little to do with our historic victory, which was delivered by the forgotten men and women of this country. Yet Steve had everything to do with the loss of a Senate seat in Alabama held for more than thirty years by Republicans. Steve doesn’t represent my base — he’s only in it for himself.
"Steve pretends to be at war with the media, which he calls the opposition party, yet he spent his time at the White House leaking false information to the media to make himself seem far more important than he was. It is the only thing he does well. Steve was rarely in a one-on-one meeting with me and only pretends to have had influence to fool a few people with no access and no clue, whom he helped write phony books."


buzzfeed--2020-06-23--People In Brooklyn Were Setting Off Fireworks. Then Police Showed Up In Riot Gear.

Monday ’ s incident is a sign of the tension between police and the community after officers violently broke up peaceful protests around the city weeks before — and tension around gentrification in the community itself .
Just over two weeks after the NYPD violently suppressed peaceful protests around New York City , police early Monday morning responded to reports of illegal fireworks in a Brooklyn neighborhood with dozens of officers in riot gear — who blocked off a street , threatened anyone who was outside with arrest , and stormed inside an apartment building .
Fireworks aren ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ though even lifelong residents say there have been a lot more this year .
What was alarming , those residents told BuzzFeed News , were the police helicopters circling overhead as officers — wearing helmets , shields , batons , body armor , and holding Tasers — pointed flashlights into apartment windows .
As residents watched nervously from their porches , some livestreamed the event from their phones .
Police took at least one person into custody , as captured by a cellphone video .
Monday ’ s response came as three dynamics @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , seemed to converge : the genuine increase in the amount of fireworks , possibly out of solidarity with Black Lives Matter demonstrations ; police frequently rolling through the streets in riot gear after this month ’ s protests ; and people on Facebook , primarily white gentrifiers , complaining about the level of noise and demanding that the city responds .
“ The deployment of riot gear is a sign of a police department in total crisis that has no idea what they 're doing , and has completely lost any connection @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a professor of sociology at Brooklyn College who wrote The End of Policing , told BuzzFeed News .
“ And this is going to just make tensions between the police and the public worse.
” The NYPD ’ s “ response , beyond just these fireworks is escalating so that someone 's gon na die over here this summer , ” Flatbush resident Brandice Taylor-Davis told BuzzFeed News .
There were 1,680 complaints about illegal fireworks in New York City between June 8 and June 15 , according to open data from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the equivalent period last year .
“ I 'm not denying that the fireworks are excessive and can be a nuisance , but they are nothing new , ” one lifelong Flatbush resident told BuzzFeed News .
“ I have lived in southern Brooklyn all my life , and it 's just a feature of summer from Memorial Day to Labor Day .
I would n't consider calling the cops , and I especially would n't given the current political climate.
” Some nights , fireworks are a part of everyday neighborhood @ @ @ @ @ @ @ before the police response , people on Ocean Avenue sang “ Happy Birthday ” to their friend after a few hours of setting them off .
But other times , fireworks have accompanied larger attitudes of resistance .
Imani Henry , an organizer at the community aid and anti-gentrification activist group Equality for Flatbush , told BuzzFeed News that he sees the increased amount of fireworks as a show of solidarity with Black Lives Matter protests that have been sweeping the city and the nation .
“ I was hit several times on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said , referring to a protest on May 30 .
“ But then the fireworks went off right on Church and Bedford , and it really was this moment of power and resistance , because people have been beaten up and fighting the cops all day .
It lifted our spirits .
This was 10 or 11 at night , and it was beautiful.
” The fireworks on Ocean Avenue on Sunday evening started like most of the previous nights that weekend , soon after the sun went down .
But then , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , started to close off a street in Flatbush at around 11:40 p.m. An off-duty police officer had called the police , the NYPD said .
Neighbors stood on their porches and fire escapes and watched , until about 12:30 a.m. , as officers twirled their batons and shone their flashlights at people .
Police huddled around a van , discussing whether they should approach a group of Black men standing outside their apartment building .
They seemed to suspect that these men were the people setting off illegal fireworks .
One officer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not going in , ” he said .
“ One firework , and this whole thing is on fire .
[ We ’ d be ] sitting ducks.
” At 12:40 a.m. , about a dozen officers entered an apartment building .
As I captured it on video , one officer shone a flashlight at my camera , obscuring the footage .
Another officer walked up to me , holding a Taser , and said , “ You ’ re gon na end up getting hurt .
Back up.
” Sgt .
Jessica @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , said the officer in the video told BuzzFeed News to stay back because people were throwing fireworks at police .
BuzzFeed News , which was on the scene the whole night , never saw anyone throw fireworks at police .
When asked if the NYPD had any evidence to support the claim that people were throwing fireworks at police — like body camera footage , social media posts — the spokesperson did not respond .
At about 1 a.m. , police drove a van down Ocean Avenue , announcing through a megaphone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to disperse .
There have been illegal fireworks .
If you don ’ t disperse , you will be subject to arrest.
” McRorie told BuzzFeed News there were “ no arrests and the investigation is ongoing . ''
But in a video shared with Equality for Flatbush , which was taken in the same location that same night , one man in handcuffs can be seen entering a police car .
McRorie did not respond to BuzzFeed News ’ s request for clarification .
When New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio @ @ @ @ @ @ @ police officers around the city used it to violently attack and arrest people who were peacefully demonstrating .
Protesters were struck and pushed with batons , shoved to the ground , and handcuffed with force .
Even essential workers delivering food , whom de Blasio promised would be exempt , were arrested .
After the curfew ended on June 7 , police have continued to roughly handle and sometimes arrest protesters .
And to some Flatbush residents , like Soraya Palmer , an organizer with Equality for Flatbush , the police ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was just the latest excuse to arrest Black and brown people .
She believes they are “ definitely retaliating the protests.
” “ I was at the protest the first Saturday where they had kettled people on Bedford and Tilden — they blocked off the protests and just started beating people with batons , pepper-spraying people , and terrorizing people who were peacefully protesting , ” she said .
“ I think that definitely , they are responding to the fact that they know , in some ways , the jig is up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ publicly supporting them and defending them .
And I think that there have been extra-violent responses.
” Vitale also argued that the police are retaliating against protesters .
“ I think this is partially driven by that fact that there have been so many protests in Flatbush in the past two and a half weeks , ” he said .
“ This show of force can be understood as a counterprotest by the police.
” For some Flatbush residents , the show of police force on Sunday night and Monday morning wasn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ growing tension in the community .
For years , they say , white gentrifiers have discussed their issues in the community , like noise complaints , in private Facebook Groups .
Palmer said gentrifiers have gathered on social media instead of engaging with their new community .
Two years ago , she said , she and several other activists of color raised concerns about posts in a Prospect Lefferts Garden Facebook Group , where people were complaining about local residents `` playing music , or people 'loitering ' or smoking weed , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
After these concerns were raised , she said , they were kicked out of the group .
“ You 're framing your neighbors as a problem — that 's not peaceful , and I think that 's still what the folks who created the page are not understanding , ” Palmer said .
“ A lot of them will say you do n't want people to get beaten by the cops .
And you might not consciously want that .
But you 're not understanding that like the way you 're going @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could happen.
” During the weekend leading up to Monday night , these posts reached a fever pitch .
On Thursday , Flatbush resident Irina Manta — a white woman who described herself as “ a law professor that moved to the neighborhood due to a serious noise nuisance in Manhattan '' — posted in the Facebook Group “ Ditmas Park , Brooklyn.
” She announced her intention to create a new group on the platform called “ Peaceful Ditmas Park , ” which she said was intended to be a `` working @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of fireworks in the area .
Dozens of people commented on the post , telling her that the neighborhood has `` always had fireworks.
” They said even so-called peaceful solutions like getting the city government involved would inevitably result in a police response that would put Black residents at risk .
`` YOU DO NOT OWN THE SIDEWALK .
YOU DO NOT OWN THE STREETS , '' one person commented .
`` People have a right to express themselves in different ways . ''
`` Part of entrance to this group was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ law and support others in that effort , '' Manta said in a comment posted to the new group .
`` The firework noise complaint is against the law and is an important reason this group was started . ''
In this new group , Manta posted a draft of a Change.org petition in which she encouraged de Blasio and several New York City council members to respond to the increase in fireworks in the area .
`` Essential workers , young children , the elderly , and individuals sick with COVID-19 or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , '' Manta wrote .
`` Not only is there a serious noise problem , but the fireworks have already caused fires and other risks to life and limb , and this will continue if left unchecked .
That is unacceptable . ''
The draft says the cosigners are `` vocal opponents of police brutality '' and `` urge that no harm come to the firework launchers . ''
Manta declined an interview , but told BuzzFeed News in a Facebook message that “ I did not call the police , the draft @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and any suggestion that I am responsible for the police coming is untrue.
” Brandice Taylor-Davis , who commented on Manta ’ s original post in the “ Ditmas Park , Brooklyn ” group , said she saw the petition and viewed it as gentrifiers rallying each other to call the police .
“ Calling 311 , writing letters , calling your assembly person — all of these things that you 're suggesting is just gon na get someone else to call the police so that you can feel like you did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they 're gon na actually call them anyway , ” she said .
Taylor-Davis said she urged Manta to consider other solutions before petitioning the city or calling the police — like doing vigorous exercise before bed , using earplugs , speaking to her neighbors , or putting up flyers .
“ When she did n't accept my first round , she was like , ‘ Do you have any other suggestions ?
’ ” Taylor-Davis said .
“ She 's asking for the suggestions and labor from people .
But it seemed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be asking and not because she was actually interested in taking any of the suggestions.
” One woman commented on Manta ’ s post with the draft of the petition , and said she ( the person commenting ) had been calling the police regularly , and that she had ridden her bike to her local police precinct and urged them to act .
Another woman in the “ Ditmas Park , Brooklyn ” Facebook Group called the people using fireworks `` assholes '' and `` exceptionally dumb , '' alleging that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wall .
`` So no , I wo n't 'enjoy the show ' nor stop calling 911 , '' the woman wrote .
`` What 's next , something blasts through my nursery window and lands in my 1-year-old 's crib ?
My house catches fire ? ''
On Sunday night , Equality for Flatbush called out Manta on its Instagram page .
And after police swarmed on Flatbush on Sunday night , Manta deleted the new “ Peaceful Ditmas Park ” Facebook page .
BuzzFeed News asked Facebook whether , hypothetically , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the police counts as inciting violence .
The company declined to comment on the record , but pointed BuzzFeed News to its Violence and Incitement policy , which says the platform will take down posts that represent `` genuine risk of physical harm or direct threats to public safety . ''
When BuzzFeed News showed extracts from “ Ditmas Park , Brooklyn ” Facebook Group , Facebook declined to comment on the record .

McRorie told BuzzFeed News there were “no arrests and the investigation is ongoing." But in a video shared with Equality for Flatbush, which was taken in the same location that same night, one man in handcuffs can be seen entering a police car. McRorie did not respond to BuzzFeed News’s request for clarification.
When New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio enacted a curfew on June 2, police officers around the city used it to violently attack and arrest people who were peacefully demonstrating. Protesters were struck and pushed with batons, shoved to the ground, and handcuffed with force. Even essential workers delivering food, whom de Blasio promised would be exempt, were arrested.
After the curfew ended on June 7, police have continued to roughly handle and sometimes arrest protesters. And to some Flatbush residents, like Soraya Palmer, an organizer with Equality for Flatbush, the police’s response to the fireworks on June 15 was just the latest excuse to arrest Black and brown people. She believes they are “definitely retaliating the protests.”
“I was at the protest the first Saturday where they had kettled people on Bedford and Tilden — they blocked off the protests and just started beating people with batons, pepper-spraying people, and terrorizing people who were peacefully protesting,” she said. “I think that definitely, they are responding to the fact that they know, in some ways, the jig is up. There's less people that are publicly supporting them and defending them. And I think that there have been extra-violent responses.”
Vitale also argued that the police are retaliating against protesters. “I think this is partially driven by that fact that there have been so many protests in Flatbush in the past two and a half weeks,” he said. “This show of force can be understood as a counterprotest by the police.”
For some Flatbush residents, the show of police force on Sunday night and Monday morning wasn’t a surprise and was emblematic of growing tension in the community. For years, they say, white gentrifiers have discussed their issues in the community, like noise complaints, in private Facebook Groups.
Palmer said gentrifiers have gathered on social media instead of engaging with their new community. Two years ago, she said, she and several other activists of color raised concerns about posts in a Prospect Lefferts Garden Facebook Group, where people were complaining about local residents "playing music, or people 'loitering' or smoking weed,” adding they wanted to call the police. After these concerns were raised, she said, they were kicked out of the group.
“You're framing your neighbors as a problem — that's not peaceful, and I think that's still what the folks who created the page are not understanding,” Palmer said. “A lot of them will say you don't want people to get beaten by the cops. And you might not consciously want that. But you're not understanding that like the way you're going about it, that is what likely could happen.”
During the weekend leading up to Monday night, these posts reached a fever pitch. On Thursday, Flatbush resident Irina Manta — a white woman who described herself as “a law professor that moved to the neighborhood due to a serious noise nuisance in Manhattan" — posted in the Facebook Group “Ditmas Park, Brooklyn.”
She announced her intention to create a new group on the platform called “Peaceful Ditmas Park,” which she said was intended to be a "working group" to deal with the issue of fireworks in the area.
Dozens of people commented on the post, telling her that the neighborhood has "always had fireworks.” They said even so-called peaceful solutions like getting the city government involved would inevitably result in a police response that would put Black residents at risk.
"YOU DO NOT OWN THE SIDEWALK. YOU DO NOT OWN THE STREETS," one person commented. "People have a right to express themselves in different ways."
"Part of entrance to this group was based on agreeing both to follow the law and support others in that effort," Manta said in a comment posted to the new group. "The firework noise complaint is against the law and is an important reason this group was started."
In this new group, Manta posted a draft of a Change.org petition in which she encouraged de Blasio and several New York City council members to respond to the increase in fireworks in the area.
"Essential workers, young children, the elderly, and individuals sick with COVID-19 or cancer often cannot sleep until 4am," Manta wrote. "Not only is there a serious noise problem, but the fireworks have already caused fires and other risks to life and limb, and this will continue if left unchecked. That is unacceptable."
The draft says the cosigners are "vocal opponents of police brutality" and "urge that no harm come to the firework launchers."
Manta declined an interview, but told BuzzFeed News in a Facebook message that “I did not call the police, the draft petition was never sent to any official, and any suggestion that I am responsible for the police coming is untrue.”
Brandice Taylor-Davis, who commented on Manta’s original post in the “Ditmas Park, Brooklyn” group, said she saw the petition and viewed it as gentrifiers rallying each other to call the police.
“Calling 311, writing letters, calling your assembly person — all of these things that you're suggesting is just gonna get someone else to call the police so that you can feel like you didn't directly call the police, but they're gonna actually call them anyway,” she said.
Taylor-Davis said she urged Manta to consider other solutions before petitioning the city or calling the police — like doing vigorous exercise before bed, using earplugs, speaking to her neighbors, or putting up flyers.
“When she didn't accept my first round, she was like, ‘Do you have any other suggestions?’” Taylor-Davis said. “She's asking for the suggestions and labor from people. But it seemed to me like she was asking just to be asking and not because she was actually interested in taking any of the suggestions.”
One woman commented on Manta’s post with the draft of the petition, and said she (the person commenting) had been calling the police regularly, and that she had ridden her bike to her local police precinct and urged them to act.
Another woman in the “Ditmas Park, Brooklyn” Facebook Group called the people using fireworks "assholes" and "exceptionally dumb," alleging that they caused property damage to a concrete wall.
"So no, I won't 'enjoy the show' nor stop calling 911," the woman wrote. "What's next, something blasts through my nursery window and lands in my 1-year-old's crib? My house catches fire?"


buzzfeed--2020-06-23--Some People Just Learned Washing Machines Have Filters You Need To Clean, So They Are Doing It For T

Some People Just Learned Washing Machines Have Filters You Need To Clean, So They Are Doing It For The First Time And It's Gnarly

I will fully admit that all of this information was news to me .
So I went to look at @ @ @ @ @ sure enough , at the bottom was a little door with a sticker that said @ @ @ @ @ two months .
I did not see anything about draining the hose , so I @ @ @ @ @ Bob Vila , only some machines have the drain hose , but they still should @ @ @ @ @ .

I will fully admit that all of this information was news to me. So I went to look at my washing machine and, sure enough, at the bottom was a little door with a sticker that said to clean the filter every two months. I did not see anything about draining the hose, so I googled that. According to Bob Vila, only some machines have the drain hose, but they still should be regularly drained for cleanliness.


buzzfeed--2020-06-23--"Outer Banks" Star Madison Bailey Revealed She Has Borderline Personality Disorder

And in order to help manage her disorder , Madison has turned to meditating and crystals .
Acting has also @ @ @ @ @ her `` on days when it 's really hard to be myself , it 's @ @ @ @ @ else . ''

And in order to help manage her disorder, Madison has turned to meditating and crystals. Acting has also been a positive outlet for her "on days when it's really hard to be myself, it's really easy to be somebody else."


buzzfeed--2020-06-24--Cities With Black Lives Matter Protests Have Not Seen Spikes In COVID-19

The journalists at BuzzFeed News are proud to bring you trustworthy and relevant reporting about the coronavirus .
To help keep this news free , become a member and sign up for our newsletter , Outbreak Today .
What ’ s more , a new analysis based on cell-phone tracking data suggests a surprising reason for the lack of protest-related spikes in COVID-19 : In the cities with large protests , the wider population actually spent more time at home during the demonstrations — suggesting that any surge caused by virus transmission at the protests themselves would have been countered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the rest of the cities ’ populations .
But some experts say that leaping to this conclusion could be a serious mistake .
“ I do think it ’ s good news that we haven ’ t seen enormous outbreaks at this time , ” Kate Grabowski , an epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins University , told BuzzFeed News .
“ But everything that we ’ ve learned from the epidemiology of this virus tells us that people who are in close proximity with people who are infected are at risk.
” Some commentators @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protest-related spikes in coronavirus cases means that social distancing rules are not so important if people are outside and wear masks — as many protesters did .
Slate went so far as to suggest that “ a much wider range of outdoor activities — sports events , beaches , swimming pools , playgrounds , and so forth — could be safely permitted much sooner than currently scheduled.
” More than three weeks after hundreds of thousands of Americans started taking to the streets to protest the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cases have not shown up in the cities with the biggest protests .
Numbers plotted for any day reflect the average for the preceding seven days .
Protests began on May 26 in Minneapolis and spread to other cities over the next few days .
While experts consulted by BuzzFeed News agreed that wearing masks and being outside may have reduced the risk of viral transmission at the protests , they pointed to other possible factors as well .
Many of the protesters were young , for example , meaning that new infections @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be less likely to cause severe disease and show up in official case counts .
And even though hundreds of thousands participated in the protests , that ’ s still a relatively small number compared to the total population of the cities involved — so it might be hard to notice transmission of the coronavirus at the protests .
“ The fact is that we will just never know for sure , because there ’ s too many moving parts , ” Andrew Noymer , an epidemiologist at the University of California , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ surprising finding that the protests caused an overall increase in social distancing in the cities in which they occurred comes from an analysis released by the company Safegraph , conducted by researchers at San Diego State University , the University of Colorado , Denver , and Bentley University in Waltham , Massachusetts .
Although Safegraph ’ s aggregated phone-tracking data didn ’ t allow the researchers to follow individuals , they were able to relate the timing of the protests to the extent to which the population of cities as a whole stayed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ understand what ’ s going on with all different parts of the population , ” Andrew Friedson , a health economist at the University of Colorado , Denver , and one of the researchers behind the study , told BuzzFeed News .
“ Many of these cities have populations in the millions.
” Friedson and his colleagues found that people in large cities that didn ’ t have protests , such as Aurora , Colorado , and Irving , Texas , moved around more during the unrest than people in cities that did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stay-at-home behavior increased after the unrest started .
Curfew orders couldn ’ t fully account for this change , the researchers found , suggesting that many people made a choice to stay at home to avoid getting caught up in clashes between police and protesters .
Some cities set up “ pop up ” COVID-19 testing stations for protesters as the unrest took off .
The initial results from this testing support the idea that relatively little transmission of the coronavirus happened at Black Lives Matter protests .
In Seattle , less than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for COVID-19 , according to a statement from the mayor ’ s office released on June 12 .
In Boston , about 2.5 % of protesters who were tested came back positive for the coronavirus — roughly in line with numbers for the city as a whole .
And in Minneapolis the figure was 1.8 % , Wired reported last week .
Still , experts warn that large gatherings of people pose a risk of a “ superspreader ” event , where a single individual infects a large number of others — such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in South Korea in the early stages of its outbreak , and at a funeral in Albany , Georgia , on February 29 .
“ There still could be a superspreader event from protests we haven ’ t seen yet , given other cases , ” Gerardo Chowell , an epidemiologist at Georgia State University in Atlanta , told BuzzFeed News .
But he noted that most of the known superspreader events have taken place at indoor gatherings .
Even though the Black Lives Matter protests don ’ t seem to have triggered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cases are now surging in states across the South and West of the country .
For the most part , these increases started before the protests began , and seem to have been driven by efforts to reopen states ’ economies and public gatherings that happened around Memorial Day weekend in late May .
“ Most of the timing for these spikes , like in Arizona , fits the timeline of relaxation of restrictions and reduction in social distancing efforts , ” Saskia Popescu , an epidemiologist at George Mason University in Fairfax @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Federation of American Scientists ’ Coronavirus Task Force , told BuzzFeed News by email .

While experts consulted by BuzzFeed News agreed that wearing masks and being outside may have reduced the risk of viral transmission at the protests, they pointed to other possible factors as well. Many of the protesters were young, for example, meaning that new infections that occurred while they were demonstrating would be less likely to cause severe disease and show up in official case counts. And even though hundreds of thousands participated in the protests, that’s still a relatively small number compared to the total population of the cities involved — so it might be hard to notice transmission of the coronavirus at the protests.
“The fact is that we will just never know for sure, because there’s too many moving parts,” Andrew Noymer, an epidemiologist at the University of California, Irvine, told BuzzFeed News.
The surprising finding that the protests caused an overall increase in social distancing in the cities in which they occurred comes from an analysis of data released by the company Safegraph, conducted by researchers at San Diego State University, the University of Colorado, Denver, and Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts. Although Safegraph’s aggregated phone-tracking data didn’t allow the researchers to follow individuals, they were able to relate the timing of the protests to the extent to which the population of cities as a whole stayed at home.
“You need to understand what’s going on with all different parts of the population,” Andrew Friedson, a health economist at the University of Colorado, Denver, and one of the researchers behind the study, told BuzzFeed News. “Many of these cities have populations in the millions.”
Friedson and his colleagues found that people in large cities that didn’t have protests, such as Aurora, Colorado, and Irving, Texas, moved around more during the unrest than people in cities that did. And in cities with protests, stay-at-home behavior increased after the unrest started. Curfew orders couldn’t fully account for this change, the researchers found, suggesting that many people made a choice to stay at home to avoid getting caught up in clashes between police and protesters.
Some cities set up “pop up” COVID-19 testing stations for protesters as the unrest took off. The initial results from this testing support the idea that relatively little transmission of the coronavirus happened at Black Lives Matter protests. In Seattle, less than 1% of those tested were positive for COVID-19, according to a statement from the mayor’s office released on June 12. In Boston, about 2.5% of protesters who were tested came back positive for the coronavirus — roughly in line with numbers for the city as a whole. And in Minneapolis the figure was 1.8%, Wired reported last week.
Still, experts warn that large gatherings of people pose a risk of a “superspreader” event, where a single individual infects a large number of others — such as those that happened at a church in South Korea in the early stages of its outbreak, and at a funeral in Albany, Georgia, on Feb. 29.
“There still could be a superspreader event from protests we haven’t seen yet, given other cases,” Gerardo Chowell, an epidemiologist at Georgia State University in Atlanta, told BuzzFeed News. But he noted that most of the known superspreader events have taken place at indoor gatherings.
Even though the Black Lives Matter protests don’t seem to have triggered a spike in coronavirus transmission, new cases are now surging in states across the South and West of the country. For the most part, these increases started before the protests began, and seem to have been driven by efforts to reopen states’ economies and public gatherings that happened around Memorial Day weekend in late May.
“Most of the timing for these spikes, like in Arizona, fits the timeline of relaxation of restrictions and reduction in social distancing efforts,” Saskia Popescu, an epidemiologist at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, and a member of the Federation of American Scientists’ Coronavirus Task Force, told BuzzFeed News by email.


buzzfeed--2020-06-24--Boompilled: Fireworks Conspiracy Theories Are Bursting Across The Internet

The weekslong onslaught of fireworks in cities across the US has rattled residents , terrified pets , and caused New York City ’ s mayor to launch a new illegal fireworks investigation unit .
And now the constant pyrotechnics are inspiring baseless conspiracy theories by people who claim to have been “ boompilled ” into believing that the fireworks are part of a government operation .
Fireworks industry experts and authorities have said the increase has likely been caused by restlessness born of the pandemic and a spike in sales in advance of July 4 , which this year falls @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Association , a fireworks industry group , said it expects this year to be a banner one for sales .
“ The APA predicts an all-time high in backyard consumer fireworks sales and use as families prepare to celebrate Independence Day at home due to the pandemic and cancellation of large public celebrations , '' said Julie Heckman , the organization ’ s executive director , in a statement .
Last week , Slate reported that fireworks laws had become more lax in the US , and that the pandemic led to a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ retailer based in New Hampshire told them that sales are up 28 % from last year thanks to a rush of online orders .
Another fireworks retailer , Anthony LoBianco of Intergalactic Fireworks , told Time magazine that people were buying and using fireworks earlier than previous years .
But on social media , people are offering conspiratorial explanations for the nightly fireworks displays , including that they ’ re the result of a government psyops meant to destabilize communities of color or to target the Black Lives Matter movement .
One popular @ @ @ @ @ @ @ set off by the police .
“ My neighbors and I believe that this is part of a coordinated attack on Black and Brown communities by government forces ; an attack meant to disorient and destabilize the # BlackLivesMatter , ” wrote author Robert Jones Jr. on June 20 , in a viral Twitter thread and Facebook post .
Fireworks are being set off in cities all over the US , but New York , including Jones ' part of Brooklyn , have been particularly hard hit .
City data shows there were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1 and 22 .
That ’ s up from just 28 for the equivalent period last year .
An Instagram account using the hashtag # FireworkTruth collected theories and speculation about the fireworks , many of which alleged police involvement without offering evidence .
The theory is that police or other government agencies are either setting off the fireworks or providing them in massive quantities to young people , supposedly to frighten locals into calling the police , thus providing the justification for a crackdown .
On Reddit and elsewhere , some are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people who ’ ve become convinced of government involvement in fireworks .
This is a reference to being redpilled , which is used to describe someone who has rejected liberalism in favor of extreme right-wing or misogynist views .

The weekslong onslaught of fireworks in cities across the US has rattled residents, terrified pets, and caused New York City’s mayor to launch a new illegal fireworks investigation unit. And now the constant pyrotechnics are inspiring baseless conspiracy theories by people who claim to have been “boompilled” into believing that the fireworks are part of a government operation.
Fireworks industry experts and authorities have said the increase has likely been caused by restlessness born of the pandemic and a spike in sales in advance of July 4, which this year falls on a Saturday. The American Pyrotechnics Association, a fireworks industry group, said it expects this year to be a banner one for sales.
“The APA predicts an all-time high in backyard consumer fireworks sales and use as families prepare to celebrate Independence Day at home due to the pandemic and cancellation of large public celebrations," said Julie Heckman, the organization’s executive director, in a statement.
Last week, Slate reported that fireworks laws had become more lax in the US, and that the pandemic led to a surge in online sales. One fireworks retailer based in New Hampshire told them that sales are up 28% from last year thanks to a rush of online orders. Another fireworks retailer, Anthony LoBianco of Intergalactic Fireworks, told Time magazine that people were buying and using fireworks earlier than previous years.
But on social media, people are offering conspiratorial explanations for the nightly fireworks displays, including that they’re the result of a government psyops meant to destabilize communities of color or to target the Black Lives Matter movement.
One popular theory is that the fireworks are being set off by the police.
“My neighbors and I believe that this is part of a coordinated attack on Black and Brown communities by government forces; an attack meant to disorient and destabilize the #BlackLivesMatter,” wrote author Robert Jones Jr. on June 20, in a viral Twitter thread and Facebook post.
Fireworks are being set off in cities all over the US, but New York, including Jones' part of Brooklyn, have been particularly hard hit. City data shows there were 8,967 complaints of illegal fireworks between June 1 and 22. That’s up from just 28 for the equivalent period last year.
An Instagram account using the hashtag #FireworkTruth collected theories and speculation about the fireworks, many of which alleged police involvement without offering evidence. The theory is that police or other government agencies are either setting off the fireworks or providing them in massive quantities to young people, supposedly to frighten locals into calling the police, thus providing the justification for a crackdown.
On Reddit and elsewhere, some are using the term boompilled to refer to people who’ve become convinced of government involvement in fireworks. This is a reference to being redpilled, which is used to describe someone who has rejected liberalism in favor of extreme right-wing or misogynist views.


buzzfeed--2020-06-24--Miley Cyrus Revealed She Quit Drugs Six Months Ago And Opened Up About The "Stigma" Of Being Young A

Miley Cyrus Revealed She Quit Drugs Six Months Ago And Opened Up About The "Stigma" Of Being Young And Sober

`` My mom was adopted , and I inherited some of the feelings she had , the abandonment feelings and @ @ @ @ @ ’ re wanted and valuable , '' Miley explained .
She went on : `` @ @ @ @ @ family history , which has a lot of addiction and mental health challenges .
So @ @ @ @ @ asking , 'Why am I the way that I am ? '
By understanding the @ @ @ @ @ present and the future much more clearly . ''

"I’ve been sober sober for the past six months. At the beginning, it was just about this vocal surgery," she said, before revealing she had done some research into her family background and found a history of addiction.


buzzfeed--2020-06-24--Some People Just Learned Washing Machines Have Filters You Need To Clean, So They Are Doing It For T


buzzfeed--2020-06-24--Experts Are Calling For A Top Science Journal To Retract A Paper On Face Masks And COVID-19

“ The paper made extraordinary claims about routes of transmission , the effectiveness of mask-wearing , and by implication , the ineffectiveness of other non-pharmaceutical interventions .
While we agree that mask-wearing plays an important role in slowing the spread of COVID-19 , the claims in this study were based on easily falsifiable claims and methodological design flaws , ” the letter says .
“ Given the scope and severity of the issues we present , and the paper ’ s outsized and immediate public impact , we ask that the Editors of PNAS retract this paper immediately.
” On @ @ @ @ @ @ @ scientists with the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Research Compendium , an expert group formed at Johns Hopkins to provide assessments of new research on the virus , had reviewed the paper and agreed that it should be retracted .
Soon after the paper appeared online , other scientists started posting eviscerating critiques of its assumptions and methods on Twitter .
“ There were just so many errors and issues with the paper that it almost seemed hard to know where to start , ” Kate Grabowski , an epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins University who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s retraction , told Buzzfeed News .
Neither of those conclusions is justified by the evidence , the paper ’ s critics say .
Still , the findings were shared widely on social media and covered uncritically by some news outlets including Forbes and the Los Angeles Times .
Molina ’ s PNAS paper went much further , however , claiming that airborne transmission through microscopic droplets is the “ dominant ” way in which the coronavirus spreads .
Molina ’ s team also estimated that rules requiring the wearing of masks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ New York City between April 17 and May 9 , and 78,000 infections in Italy between April 6 and May 9 .
As scientists have learned more about the role people without visible symptoms play in spreading the disease , health officials have recommended widespread use of face coverings .
And a systematic review of the available evidence published on June 1 in the Lancet concluded that wearing masks “ could result in a large reduction in risk of infection.
” Recently , mandates to wear face masks have become a flashpoint in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the spread of COVID-19 .
The paper was published on June 11 in PNAS , the flagship journal of the prestigious National Academy of Sciences , by researchers including Mario Molina of the University of California , San Diego .
Molina is an atmospheric chemist who shared the 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his research showing how chemicals called CFCs , once widely used in aerosol sprays and as refrigerants , were destroying the ozone layer that protects us from the sun ’ s damaging ultraviolet rays .
“ One of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people will take this as rigorous science and base their actions on it , ” Noah Haber , a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University who helped organize the letter calling for the paper ’ s retraction , told BuzzFeed News .
The scientists , who sent a signed letter to the journal PNAS on Thursday , say that the paper is based on false statements and flawed statistical analysis and could encourage people to put themselves at risk by congregating in groups , believing that wearing a mask is enough to protect them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , including leading epidemiologists studying COVID-19 , are calling on a top journal to retract a paper from a Nobel Prize–winning chemist that claimed that wearing face masks is the crucial factor in slowing the spread of the coronavirus — diminishing the role that social distancing measures play in protecting the public .
The biggest problem with the paper , according to Grabowski , is that its conclusions about the effectiveness of mask-wearing , compared to other measures to slow the spread of the virus , are based on false statements .
Molina @ @ @ @ @ @ @ difference between New York City and the rest of the US in terms of regulatory measures to limit the spread of COVID-19 was a mandate that people should wear face coverings outside the home , introduced in New York City on April 17 .
The paper also stated : “ With social distancing , quarantine , and isolation in place worldwide and in the United States since the beginning of April , airborne transmission represents the only viable route for spreading the disease.
” Neither of those assumptions is true , Grabowski and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conclusion that mask-wearing is the crucial intervention just doesn ’ t hold up .
“ There was a patchwork of varying behaviors and rules with varying degrees of adoption , ” Daniel Larremore , a computational biologist at the University of Colorado at Boulder , who also signed the letter , told BuzzFeed News .
He is studying data on people ’ s movements provided by Facebook and other technology companies , and has found that some people continued to move around even when stay-at-home orders were in place .
What ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ studies that isolation and social distancing measures have slowed transmission of the coronavirus .
The letter requesting the paper ’ s retraction also slams the statistical methods used by Molina ’ s team .
The researchers fitted straight lines to curves showing the growing number of cases , noted the timing of any mandate to wear face masks , and then looked at how the slope of the curve became more shallow after that .
But this ignores the fact that case curves for infectious diseases tend to naturally level out after a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it ’ s impossible to attribute the change to face masks alone .
Molina ’ s team also ignored the lag of one to two weeks , caused by the disease ’ s incubation period and delays in diagnosis , needed to see any noticeable effect on case numbers after a policy change .
Contacted by BuzzFeed News before the letter requesting retraction was sent to PNAS , Molina rejected criticisms of his paper .
“ We just looked at the data that is published and it ’ s surprisingly linear until something @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Molina argued that epidemiologists have overlooked the importance of microscopic droplets containing the virus .
Specialists in air pollution , he argued , are used to thinking about the dangers of aerosols of tiny particles .
“ This is obvious to people who deal with air quality , ” he said .
“ The only thing new here is that we apply this to the coronavirus.
” Other authors of the paper include Renyi Zhang , a former student of Molina ’ s who is now a professor of atmospheric chemistry at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Station , and his daughter Annie Li Zhang , who was an undergraduate student in chemistry at the University of Texas at Austin .
Renyi Zhang declined to speak to BuzzFeed News .
“ This paper is a peer-reviewed scientific publication .
Its content can be debated in a legitimate , scientific fashion .
However , we prefer not to engage in scientific debates via social media platform , ” he told BuzzFeed News by email , referring to criticisms of the paper on Twitter .
Annie Li Zhang did not respond to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the research .
The fight over the paper also exposes long-running concerns about a quirk of the journal PNAS that allows members of the academy , like Molina , to bypass the normal mechanism of peer review , by which journal editors select independent scientific experts to vet a paper for publication .
Under the journal ’ s “ contributed track , ” academy members can submit up to two papers a year for which they select the reviewers themselves .
Some scientists have criticized the practice as an anachronism that allows the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ image of the academy as an “ old boys ’ club.
” The letter requesting the retraction of the paper also calls on PNAS to “ reassess the Contributed Submission editorial process by which it was published.
” Academy members have so far been unwilling to give up this perk , but over the years the rules for the contributed track have been tightened , reducing how frequently it can be used .
Journal policies also demand that “ the subject matter must be within the member 's area of expertise.
” Yet @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s paper , and neither of the reviewers , are experts in infectious disease epidemiology .
Responding to queries from BuzzFeed News before the letter requesting retraction , PNAS Editor-in-Chief May Berenbaum , an evolutionary biologist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , said by email that she was aware of the criticisms of the paper .
“ There are ongoing discussions about the paper among members of the journal leadership team , members of the Editorial Board , and other NAS members , ” she said , adding that she was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the publication of the paper had complied with the rules for the contributed track .
Berenbaum did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the letter calling for the paper ’ s retraction .
This is not the first controversy surrounding research on COVID-19 , as scientists from many fields have rushed in to respond to the crisis .
In the early days of the pandemic , there was widespread concern that “ preprints ” of studies , posted online without peer review , were stoking misinformation and panic .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ released as a preprint was criticized for its flawed methodology and undisclosed conflict of interest .
And earlier this month , high-profile papers published in the Lancet and the New England Journal of Medicine were retracted after Surgisphere , a small company that claimed to have provided health records collected from tens of thousands of patients , was unable to disclose the data behind the studies .

More than 40 scientists, including leading epidemiologists studying COVID-19, are calling on a top journal to retract a paper from a Nobel Prize–winning chemist that claimed that wearing face masks is the crucial factor in slowing the spread of the coronavirus — diminishing the role that social distancing measures play in protecting the public.
The scientists, who sent a signed letter to the journal PNAS on Thursday, say that the paper is based on false statements and flawed statistical analysis and could encourage people to put themselves at risk by congregating in groups, believing that wearing a mask is enough to protect them from infection.
“One of the things we really worry about is that people will take this as rigorous science and base their actions on it,” Noah Haber, a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University who helped organize the letter calling for the paper’s retraction, told BuzzFeed News.
The paper was published on June 11 in PNAS, the flagship journal of the prestigious National Academy of Sciences, by researchers including Mario Molina of the University of California, San Diego. Molina is an atmospheric chemist who shared the 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his research showing how chemicals called CFCs, once widely used in aerosol sprays and as refrigerants, were destroying the ozone layer that protects us from the sun’s damaging ultraviolet rays.
Recently, mandates to wear face masks have become a flashpoint in the hyper-politicized debate over restrictions to stop the spread of COVID-19.
As scientists have learned more about the role people without visible symptoms play in spreading the disease, health officials have recommended widespread use of face coverings. And a systematic review of the available evidence published on June 1 in the Lancet concluded that wearing masks “could result in a large reduction in risk of infection.”
Molina’s PNAS paper went much further, however, claiming that airborne transmission through microscopic droplets is the “dominant” way in which the coronavirus spreads. Molina’s team also estimated that rules requiring the wearing of masks prevented at least 66,000 coronavirus infections in New York City between April 17 and May 9, and 78,000 infections in Italy between April 6 and May 9.
Neither of those conclusions is justified by the evidence, the paper’s critics say. Still, the findings were shared widely on social media and covered uncritically by some news outlets including Forbes and the Los Angeles Times.
Soon after the paper appeared online, other scientists started posting eviscerating critiques of its assumptions and methods on Twitter. “There were just so many errors and issues with the paper that it almost seemed hard to know where to start,” Kate Grabowski, an epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins University who signed the letter calling for the study’s retraction, told Buzzfeed News.
On June 12, Grabowski posted that four scientists with the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Research Compendium, an expert group formed at Johns Hopkins to provide assessments of new research on the virus, had reviewed the paper and agreed that it should be retracted.
“The paper made extraordinary claims about routes of transmission, the effectiveness of mask-wearing, and by implication, the ineffectiveness of other non-pharmaceutical interventions. While we agree that mask-wearing plays an important role in slowing the spread of COVID-19, the claims in this study were based on easily falsifiable claims and methodological design flaws,” the letter says. “Given the scope and severity of the issues we present, and the paper’s outsized and immediate public impact, we ask that the Editors of PNAS retract this paper immediately.”


buzzfeed--2020-06-24--The Black Lives Matter Protests Have Taught Us More About The Coronavirus

BuzzFeed News has reporters around the world bringing you trustworthy stories about the impact of the coronavirus .
To help keep this news free , become a member .
What ’ s more , a new analysis based on cell-phone tracking data suggests a surprising reason for the lack of protest-related spikes in COVID-19 : In the cities with large protests , the wider population actually spent more time at home during the demonstrations — suggesting that any surge caused by virus transmission at the protests themselves would have been countered by an increase in social distancing among the rest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some experts say that leaping to this conclusion could be a serious mistake .
“ I do think it ’ s good news that we haven ’ t seen enormous outbreaks at this time , ” Kate Grabowski , an epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins University , told BuzzFeed News .
“ But everything that we ’ ve learned from the epidemiology of this virus tells us that people who are in close proximity with people who are infected are at risk.
” Some commentators are already speculating that the lack of protest-related spikes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rules are not so important if people are outside and wear masks — as many protesters did .
Slate went so far as to suggest that “ a much wider range of outdoor activities — sports events , beaches , swimming pools , playgrounds , and so forth — could be safely permitted much sooner than currently scheduled.
” More than three weeks after hundreds of thousands of Americans started taking to the streets to protest the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer , anticipated surges in COVID-19 cases have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the biggest protests .
Numbers plotted for any day reflect the average for the preceding seven days .
Protests began on May 26 in Minneapolis and spread to other cities over the next few days .
While experts consulted by BuzzFeed News agreed that wearing masks and being outside may have reduced the risk of viral transmission at the protests , they pointed to other possible factors as well .
Many of the protesters were young , for example , meaning that new infections that occurred while they were demonstrating would be less @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up in official case counts .
And even though hundreds of thousands participated in the protests , that ’ s still a relatively small number compared to the total population of the cities involved — so it might be hard to notice transmission of the coronavirus at the protests .
“ The fact is that we will just never know for sure , because there ’ s too many moving parts , ” Andrew Noymer , an epidemiologist at the University of California , Irvine , told BuzzFeed News .
The surprising finding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in social distancing in the cities in which they occurred comes from an analysis released by the company Safegraph , conducted by researchers at San Diego State University , the University of Colorado , Denver , and Bentley University in Waltham , Massachusetts .
Although Safegraph ’ s aggregated phone-tracking data didn ’ t allow the researchers to follow individuals , they were able to relate the timing of the protests to the extent to which the population of cities as a whole stayed at home .
“ You need to understand what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ parts of the population , ” Andrew Friedson , a health economist at the University of Colorado , Denver , and one of the researchers behind the study , told BuzzFeed News .
“ Many of these cities have populations in the millions.
” Friedson and his colleagues found that people in large cities that didn ’ t have protests , such as Aurora , Colorado , and Irving , Texas , moved around more during the unrest than people in cities that did .
And in cities with protests , stay-at-home behavior @ @ @ @ @ @ @ orders couldn ’ t fully account for this change , the researchers found , suggesting that many people made a choice to stay at home to avoid getting caught up in clashes between police and protesters .
Some cities set up “ pop up ” COVID-19 testing stations for protesters as the unrest took off .
The initial results from this testing support the idea that relatively little transmission of the coronavirus happened at Black Lives Matter protests .
In Seattle , less than 1 % of those tested were positive for COVID-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mayor ’ s office released on June 12 .
In Boston , about 2.5 % of protesters who were tested came back positive for the coronavirus — roughly in line with numbers for the city as a whole .
And in Minneapolis the figure was 1.8 % , Wired reported last week .
Still , experts warn that large gatherings of people pose a risk of a “ superspreader ” event , where a single individual infects a large number of others — such as those that happened at a church in South @ @ @ @ @ @ @ outbreak , and at a funeral in Albany , Georgia , on February 29 .
“ There still could be a superspreader event from protests we haven ’ t seen yet , given other cases , ” Gerardo Chowell , an epidemiologist at Georgia State University in Atlanta , told BuzzFeed News .
But he noted that most of the known superspreader events have taken place at indoor gatherings .
Even though the Black Lives Matter protests don ’ t seem to have triggered a spike in coronavirus transmission , new cases are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and West of the country .
For the most part , these increases started before the protests began , and seem to have been driven by efforts to reopen states ’ economies and public gatherings that happened around Memorial Day weekend in late May .
“ Most of the timing for these spikes , like in Arizona , fits the timeline of relaxation of restrictions and reduction in social distancing efforts , ” Saskia Popescu , an epidemiologist at George Mason University in Fairfax , Virginia , and a member of the Federation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , told BuzzFeed News by email .