buzzfeed--2020-08-08--"I Had Hit The Lottery”: Inmates Desperate To Get Out Of Prisons Hit Hard By The Coronavirus Are Rac

"I Had Hit The Lottery”: Inmates Desperate To Get Out Of Prisons Hit Hard By The Coronavirus Are Racing To Court

With little legal precedent for a global pandemic , judges are deciding on a case-by-case basis how to weigh the risks of COVID-19 in prisons .
WASHINGTON — Ernest Boykin III watched as the coronavirus pandemic spread this spring through the federal prison in North Carolina where he was serving a 15-year sentence .
There weren ’ t any confirmed cases in his unit yet , but he was afraid he would die if there were .
Boykin filed an emergency request in court for compassionate release in May , arguing he has underlying medical conditions — obesity , asthma @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — that even the prosecutor acknowledged put him at risk of a severe case of COVID-19 .
The government opposed his release , however .
Having served less than half of his sentence for drug and weapons crimes , Boykin thought it was a long shot .
When his lawyer called in mid-July to tell him that the judge had agreed to release him to home confinement , “ it was like everything was in slow motion , ” he said .
“ This was like the best day of my life , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Boykin , a 41-year-old father of five , told BuzzFeed News , speaking by phone from his parents ’ house in Washington , DC .
Boykin ’ s comparison to the lottery isn ’ t far off .
A BuzzFeed News review of more than 50 cases filed in the federal district court in DC showed that with little precedent for a flood of release requests during a pandemic , decisions about who gets out of prison and who does not can appear arbitrary .
Prisoner advocates and defense lawyers say these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the draw , with some judges proving to be more sympathetic than others .
Judges are making medical assessments about how much of a threat COVID-19 poses to an individual inmate and then deciding how to balance that against the public safety risk of sending that person back into the community ; inmates are usually released to home confinement or under the supervision of a probation officer .
And judges are reaching different conclusions about how to measure an inmate ’ s risk of exposure in state and federal prisons , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of COVID-19 cases nationwide .
Boykin is one of more than 800 inmates who have been granted compassionate release by a federal judge since March , according to data from the Federal Bureau of Prisons .
Another 7,000 federal inmates have been released by the BOP to home confinement in the same period , after Attorney General Bill Barr directed the bureau to prioritize using its own release power for eligible inmates to minimize the spread of COVID-19 .
More than 150,000 federal inmates remain incarcerated .
Thousands of inmates are still exploring @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mandatory Minimums , just one of the groups that connect inmates with pro bono legal assistance , has fielded more than 3,000 requests for help since the start of the pandemic .
They ’ ve been able to match approximately 1,200 inmates and family members with lawyers .
“ We were hoping ... that judges would not want to be a party to this ongoing , slow massacre in the prisons .
And they ’ re not , and that ’ s good , ” said FAMM President Kevin Ring .
However , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ how judges are analyzing release requests , “ it ’ s not consistent across jurisdictions — there are some judges who have been stricter and some who have been more lenient.
” In the meantime , COVID-19 cases in prisons and jails continue to rise .
As of Aug. 5 , more than 100 federal inmates have died , and 1,807 have confirmed cases .
Nearly 9,000 federal inmates , as well as more than 750 BOP employees , have recovered from the disease .
There have been severe outbreaks in state and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Marshall Project , there have been nearly 80,000 reported cases among federal , state , and local prisoners in the United States .
“ Everybody ’ s terrified , ” said Deborah Golden , a prisoners ’ rights lawyer .
“ Inside prisons , people know generally that illnesses spread really fast .
Your garden-variety cold or the seasonal flu usually whips through a facility quickly because people are packed together ; sanitation is tough .
People have a lot of preexisting health conditions .
And so in the places where I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re just scared for their lives.
” Most of the cases reviewed by BuzzFeed News involved compassionate release petitions filed by people who were already convicted but also included requests for temporary release in pending criminal cases .
Inmates with medical conditions that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said increase the risk of catching COVID-19 or having a severe case of the disease — asthma , obesity , or high blood pressure , for instance — faced varying outcomes when they ’ ve gone to court , case records @ @ @ @ @ @ @ requests relied on the fact that there weren ’ t any confirmed cases of COVID-19 at a particular prison or jail , and sometimes that wasn ’ t a barrier .
Some judges insisted inmates meet a threshold of having served at least half of their sentence , and other judges didn ’ t , as was the case for Boykin .
Nearly all judges required proof of a specific medical condition — but in one case a judge approved pretrial release without it , noting that his pre-pandemic decision to jail the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ call .
In two cases reviewed by BuzzFeed News , inmates serving multiple sentences related to different cases received conflicting decisions , with one judge granting their release and another denying it .
In late May , a federal judge in Virginia approved Arnold Jackson ’ s request for home confinement , finding that his health condition , which included diabetes , asthma , and obesity , put him at a high risk of a severe case .
The Virginia jail where Jackson was being held pending transfer to a BOP facility didn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time , but Chief US District Judge Michael Urbanski wrote that he was “ concerned by the spread of the disease throughout prisons in Virginia.
” Less than a month later , a federal judge in DC , where Jackson had a separate conviction , ordered him to stay behind bars .
In denying Jackson ’ s release request , US District Judge Trevor McFadden noted that the crime he was convicted of in DC — possessing cocaine with the intent to distribute — was more serious than the supervised release violation he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ McFadden also disagreed with Urbanski ’ s assessment of the health risks at stake .
“ As several judges have observed , a defendant is at risk of contracting COVID-19 whether he is in prison or not , ” McFadden wrote .
“ Indeed , Jackson ’ s request to be released from [ the Central Virginia Regional Jail ] where he reports no COVID-19 cases — to home confinement in Washington , D.C. — where there are many — is particularly unpersuasive.
” Jackson is appealing McFadden ’ s decision .
His @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pending case .
In compassionate release cases , judges have to decide if an inmate ’ s situation presents “ extraordinary and compelling reasons ” to reduce their prison sentence .
In some cases reviewed by BuzzFeed News , judges found that an inmate ’ s medical conditions met the standard given the pandemic , but public safety and other factors outweighed the health risks .
US District Judge Emmet Sullivan , the judge who granted release to Boykin , denied release to Tony John Evans , who was convicted in a multimillion-dollar @ @ @ @ @ @ @ presented medical conditions , including obesity , high blood pressure , and sleep apnea , that cleared the “ extraordinary and compelling ” standard .
The judge also noted that the federal prison where Evans was being held in Danbury , Connecticut , was experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak ; as of August , 89 inmates had recovered from the disease , and one had died .
But Sullivan wrote that Evans ’ participation in a “ manipulative and sinister ” extortion scheme , lack of family support , minimal employment history , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a danger to the community weighed in favor of keeping him in prison .
Sullivan wrote that the 60-month sentence he originally imposed was still necessary .
Older inmates were more likely to win release — judges have relied on the CDC ’ s guidance that people over 65 are at a higher risk — but age wasn ’ t always a guarantee of a certain outcome .
A 78-year-old man convicted of drug trafficking crimes who presented evidence that he had a range of ailments , including chronic heart failure , was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ didn ’ t present evidence of any underlying medical conditions was approved for home confinement while waiting for sentencing on his conviction for distribution of child pornography .
Inmates who had served less than 50 % of their sentence were less likely to win release , but there were exceptions , like Boykin ’ s case .
US District Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson in May agreed to release Morris Johnson to home confinement , even though he ’ d only served 29 % of a 41-month sentence for weapons-related offenses .
The judge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he wasn ’ t a flight risk or danger to the community and had a “ good track record ” of complying with release conditions when she allowed him to remain free pending trial .
Johnson ’ s lawyer declined an interview request .
Some judges who granted release wrote that they thought the risk of being sent back to prison as COVID-19 continued to spread would give those who were released an incentive to stay out of trouble .
Some judges who denied release focused on the greater risk of exposure for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ inmates on home confinement or supervised release .
Prisoner advocates have tried class actions as a way to get larger groups of inmates released through a single case , or at least moved to facilities with fewer confirmed COVID-19 cases ; the lawsuits have focused on inmates with medical conditions that put them at a higher risk of contracting the virus .
So far those efforts have been largely unsuccessful .
“ Judges are very hesitant to release people who are incarcerated prior to the end of their sentences , particularly in large @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other ways of helping — and I think that ’ s probably true of most of the judges , that they would like to make this a better situation — but they are concerned about actually letting people out , ” said Maria Morris , a senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union ’ s National Prison Project .
In April , US District Judge James Gwin ordered the BOP to immediately review if “ medically vulnerable ” inmates at the Elkton , Ohio , prison were eligible for release , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t eligible to a facility with a lower risk of COVID-19 exposure .
Gwin wrote that the BOP was fighting a “ losing battle ” to contain the disease at Elkton , which by April had 59 confirmed cases among inmates and six deaths .
He issued another decision in May finding prison officials had failed to fully comply with his first order .
But on June 4 , the US Supreme Court put Gwin ’ s orders on hold while the Justice Department appealed .
Five days later , the 6th Circuit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the inmates failed to show the BOP was “ deliberately indifferent ” to the risks of COVID-19 at Elkton .
As the situation worsens in some BOP facilities , some inmates who lost their first attempt at a release are renewing their requests .
BuzzFeed News identified at least one case where a judge is revisiting his previous decision .
US District Judge Paul Friedman in June denied compassionate release to Sheila Scutchings , who is serving a 54-month sentence for her role in a fraud conspiracy .
When Scutchings first filed her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ two confirmed COVID-19 cases at Federal Medical Center Carswell , a prison facility in Fort Worth , Texas .
Friedman , a federal judge in DC , noted the small number of cases in his ruling .
But by mid-July , there were more than 500 confirmed COVID-19 cases at Carswell .
Scutchings renewed her request , and Friedman issued an order on July 27 saying he ’ d reconsider .
The spread of the virus at the facility was “ of concern , ” he wrote .
He ordered the government to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ daily infection rates at the facility .
As of Aug. 5 , there were 150 inmates with the disease and 392 who had recovered ; four inmates have died .
Scutchings ’ lawyer , Joseph Conte , declined to comment .
Prisons and jails were predictable hot spots for outbreaks of COVID-19 .
Incarcerated individuals live , eat , and sleep in communal spaces .
Even if masks , cleaning supplies , and hand sanitizer are available — and Golden said that isn ’ t always the case — inmates can ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Inmates with limited access to the outside world have struggled to get up-to-date information about the disease and what ’ s happening in their own prison , advocates told BuzzFeed News .
Prisons have restricted in-person visits , including with lawyers , and that can make it harder for inmates to pursue release .
Boykin was serving his sentence at Rivers Correctional Institution , a privately operated federal prison .
When the pandemic first hit in the spring , he said he didn ’ t think prison staff took it seriously ; @ @ @ @ @ @ @ masks , he said .
Even after the facility started taking precautions and distributing masks , enforcement was “ kind of lax , ” he said .
“ I was really , really scared that I was going to die in prison , ” he said .
Rivers has been on the low end of confirmed cases ; 20 inmates have recovered , and none have died so far .
Five inmates currently have confirmed cases , according to the BOP .
But other federal prisons have had hundreds of cases .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one of the worst COVID-19 outbreaks across the Bureau of Prisons to date ; nearly 800 inmates have recovered from the disease , and 25 have died , according to BOP .
Seventy-five inmates at the facility currently have the disease .
“ One of the things that we ’ ve heard at Butner , which is where a lot of our information has come from , is that people will be lying in their beds , and no one really knows how sick they are until they collapse and have to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which point who knows how many people around them have been infected , ” Morris said .
BOP spokesperson Justin Long declined an interview request , and emailed BuzzFeed News an overview of how the agency has responded to the pandemic .
To try to stop the disease from getting into prisons , Long said , officials limited inmate transfers between facilities , suspended in-person visits and staff travel , and limited access for contractors and volunteers .
As of mid-June , Long added , all new inmates have been tested for COVID-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 14 days before going into the general population .
To contain the spread of COVID-19 within facilities , Long said , prison officials have limited how much inmates can move around and congregate .
Inmates who test positive are placed in isolation .
Soap and cleaning supplies are available , and all inmates and staffers have received masks .
Long said that UNICOR , the government-owned company that operates federal prison factories , is producing cloth face masks and distributing them to reserve surgical masks for medical procedures .
“ We are deeply @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those inmates who are entrusted to our care , and for our staff , their families , and the communities we live and work in .
It is our highest priority to continue to do everything we can to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in our facilities , ” Long wrote .
The incarcerated individuals who continue to petition federal judges for release argue the BOP has failed to do enough to protect inmates and staffers during the pandemic , however , especially those who are older and those who have preexisting medical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Act , passed by Congress in 2018 , inmates could not petition for compassionate release on their own ; only the BOP could file a request in court .
Of the 1,168 compassionate release orders issued by judges since it became law in December 2018 , 829 have been granted since March this year , according to BOP data .
By comparison , from 2013 to 2017 , the bureau approved 312 applications for compassionate releases , according to an analysis of data by the Marshall Project and the New York Times .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ during a pandemic is developing in real time , which creates challenges for lawyers and judges who are used to looking to past cases for guidance .
Deborah Golden , who unsuccessfully argued for compassionate release for a 63-year-old federal inmate , said judges want information that changes what they knew when a person was sentenced — evidence of an outbreak at a prison , for instance , or underlying health conditions that present a specific risk related to COVID-19 .
“ You really do have to show something , from what I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Golden said .
One area where federal judges nationwide haven ’ t agreed is whether inmates have to first petition the BOP to seek compassionate release on their behalf before they can go directly to a judge .
The First Step Act says inmates are supposed to first apply to the warden , and then either go through an appeal process if that official denies their request or wait 30 days from when they applied before going to court .
Judges in the DC federal court have allowed cases to go @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the 30-day waiting period , but judges elsewhere haven ’ t .
In April , the US Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit , which covers Pennsylvania , Delaware , and New Jersey , called an inmate ’ s failure to go through the BOP process a “ glaring roadblock ” to their release .
Ernest Boykin said the compassionate release process seemed designed to discourage inmates from pursuing it all the way to court .
He said he had friends at the Rivers prison facility with medical issues that put them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ case of COVID-19 , such as asthma and obesity , but they didn ’ t have the family and legal support that he did to press their case .
“ The way they have the system set up , they know that people are not going to follow through , ” he said .
Many inmates are turning to the compassionate release process because few other legal avenues are available .
They can file a lawsuit arguing that conditions in a particular prison are unlawful or unconstitutional , but the federal Prison Litigation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and requires inmates to first exhaust an internal grievance process .
Katie Chamblee-Ryan , a senior attorney with the Civil Rights Corps who has been working on prisoner release litigation during the pandemic , said the PLRA has placed “ needlessly cruel ” restrictions on prisoners ’ ability to get relief from the courts in a dangerous and fast-moving situation .
“ This law has a vice grip on federal courts , ” Chamblee-Ryan said .
“ It allows extremely narrow , extremely circumspect measures only , and really hampers their ability to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do , prisons and jails fail to protect the rights of the people inside of them.
” Although prisoner advocates and federal inmates haven ’ t been able to use class actions to secure large-scale releases , they have had some success convincing judges to order prison officials to adopt policies to make prisons and jails safer during the pandemic .
The Civil Rights Corps filed a class action in April in federal court in Maryland seeking the release of “ medically vulnerable ” inmates at the Prince George ’ s County jail @ @ @ @ @ @ @ requiring officials to take steps to protect inmates against the spread of COVID-19 , such as providing individual supplies of soap and other cleaning products , creating social distancing policies , and increasing access to phones so prisoners didn ’ t have to crowd together while they waited to make calls .
The Civil Rights Corps filed dozens of firsthand accounts from inmates who described a lack of social distancing and inadequate or inaccessible medical care .
In May , US District Judge Paula Xinis entered an injunction ordering county officials to develop @ @ @ @ @ @ @ testing , providing personal protective equipment , and educating staff about how to care for sick inmates .
She declined to order the release of inmates , however .
In June , the judge declined to extend her injunction , finding state officials had come up with a “ reasonable ” response to the pandemic .
The organization is still litigating the case but is also trying to pressure state officials to intervene .
It launched a project in July called “ Gasping for Justice , ” recruiting actors and artists , including @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Alec Baldwin , as well as prisoners ’ rights advocates and other volunteers to record themselves reading the inmates ’ statements out loud .
“ The people who have been there since the pandemic began saw a huge outbreak at the jail and no response from jail officials .
They basically feel like sitting ducks , ” Chamblee-Ryan said of the inmates she ’ s representing .
On Aug. 5 , the Supreme Court voted 5-4 to halt an injunction entered in a federal class action in California that required heightened public health @ @ @ @ @ @ @ county jail in Santa Ana , California .
The court ’ s four more liberal justices disagreed with the decision , with Justice Sonia Sotomayor writing that the court was “ leaving to its own devices a jail that has misrepresented its actions to the District Court and failed to safeguard the health of the inmates in its care.
” Boykin said he ’ s in touch with friends at the Rivers prison , and they ’ re still worried about the disease spreading there .
He ’ s enjoying his freedom ; @ @ @ @ @ @ @ socially distanced visits with his kids , who live with their mother , and savored the ribeye steak he had for dinner when he first arrived back in DC , but he said he wants to find ways to help those who are still in prison .
“ People are being left to die , ” he said .
●

WASHINGTON — Ernest Boykin III watched as the coronavirus pandemic spread this spring through the federal prison in North Carolina where he was serving a 15-year sentence. There weren’t any confirmed cases in his unit yet, but he was afraid he would die if there were.
Boykin filed an emergency request in court for compassionate release in May, arguing he has underlying medical conditions — obesity, asthma, and high blood pressure, especially — that even the prosecutor acknowledged put him at risk of a severe case of COVID-19. The government opposed his release, however. Having served less than half of his sentence for drug and weapons crimes, Boykin thought it was a long shot.
When his lawyer called in mid-July to tell him that the judge had agreed to release him to home confinement, “it was like everything was in slow motion,” he said.
“This was like the best day of my life, like I had hit the lottery,” Boykin, a 41-year-old father of five, told BuzzFeed News, speaking by phone from his parents’ house in Washington, DC.
Boykin’s comparison to the lottery isn’t far off. A BuzzFeed News review of more than 50 cases filed in the federal district court in DC showed that with little precedent for a flood of release requests during a pandemic, decisions about who gets out of prison and who does not can appear arbitrary. Prisoner advocates and defense lawyers say these cases can come down to the luck of the draw, with some judges proving to be more sympathetic than others.
Judges are making medical assessments about how much of a threat COVID-19 poses to an individual inmate and then deciding how to balance that against the public safety risk of sending that person back into the community; inmates are usually released to home confinement or under the supervision of a probation officer. And judges are reaching different conclusions about how to measure an inmate’s risk of exposure in state and federal prisons, which have seen some of the worst clusters of COVID-19 cases nationwide.
Boykin is one of more than 800 inmates who have been granted compassionate release by a federal judge since March, according to data from the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Another 7,000 federal inmates have been released by the BOP to home confinement in the same period, after Attorney General Bill Barr directed the bureau to prioritize using its own release power for eligible inmates to minimize the spread of COVID-19. More than 150,000 federal inmates remain incarcerated.
Thousands of inmates are still exploring options to get out. Families Against Mandatory Minimums, just one of the groups that connect inmates with pro bono legal assistance, has fielded more than 3,000 requests for help since the start of the pandemic. They’ve been able to match approximately 1,200 inmates and family members with lawyers.
“We were hoping ... that judges would not want to be a party to this ongoing, slow massacre in the prisons. And they’re not, and that’s good,” said FAMM President Kevin Ring. However, he said, when it comes to how judges are analyzing release requests, “it’s not consistent across jurisdictions — there are some judges who have been stricter and some who have been more lenient.”
In the meantime, COVID-19 cases in prisons and jails continue to rise. As of Aug. 5, more than 100 federal inmates have died, and 1,807 have confirmed cases. Nearly 9,000 federal inmates, as well as more than 750 BOP employees, have recovered from the disease. There have been severe outbreaks in state and local jails as well; according to the Marshall Project, there have been nearly 80,000 reported cases among federal, state, and local prisoners in the United States.
“Everybody’s terrified,” said Deborah Golden, a prisoners’ rights lawyer. “Inside prisons, people know generally that illnesses spread really fast. Your garden-variety cold or the seasonal flu usually whips through a facility quickly because people are packed together; sanitation is tough. People have a lot of preexisting health conditions. And so in the places where I’ve talked to people, they’re just scared for their lives.”


buzzfeed--2020-08-08--Facebook Fired An Employee Who Collected Evidence Of Right-Wing Pages Getting Preferential Treatment

Facebook employees collected evidence showing the company is giving right-wing pages preferential treatment when it comes to misinformation .
And they ’ re worried about how the company will handle the president ’ s falsehoods in an election year .
After months of debate and disagreement over the handling of inflammatory or misleading posts from Donald Trump , Facebook employees want CEO Mark Zuckerberg to explain what the company would do if the leader of the free world uses the social network to undermine the results of the 2020 US presidential election .
“ I do think we ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is going to be used to aggressively undermine the legitimacy of the US elections , in a way that has never been possible in history , ” one Facebook employee wrote in a group on Workplace , the company ’ s internal communication platform , earlier this week .
For the past week , this scenario has been a topic of heated discussion inside Facebook and was a top question for its leader .
Some 2,900 employees asked Zuckerberg to address it publicly during a company-wide meeting on Thursday , which he partly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ position . ''
Zuckerberg ’ s remarks came amid growing internal concerns about the company 's competence in handling misinformation , and the precautions it is taking to ensure its platform isn ’ t used to disrupt or mislead ahead of the US presidential election .
Though Facebook says it has committed more money and resources to avoid repeating its failures during the 2016 election , some employees believe it isn ’ t enough .
President Trump has already spent months raising questions about the legitimacy of the upcoming 2020 election , spreading @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to say if he ’ d accept the possibility of losing to Democratic nominee Joe Biden in November .
In July , Trump told Fox News he wasn ’ t sure if he ’ d concede to Biden , casting doubt on whether there would be a peaceful transition of power if the former vice president wins the election .
`` I have to see .
I 'm not just going to say yes .
I 'm not going to say no , '' the president said .
On Facebook ’ s internal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ election question remained civil prior to Thursday ’ s all-hands meeting .
Employees debated the merits of censoring a sitting president ’ s potentially false statements about election results with one person noting that “ it would be a really troubling policy to apply globally.
” `` America ca n't afford for Facebook to take a wait-and-see approach when it comes to the integrity of our democracy , ” said Jesse Lehrich , a former foreign policy spokesperson to Hillary Clinton and cofounder of Accountable Tech , a nonprofit advocacy group .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ enforcement mechanisms to safeguard the election , the platform will be weaponized to undermine it . ''
Do you work at Facebook or another technology company ?
We 'd love to hear from you .
Reach out at craig.silverman @ buzzfeed.com , ryan.mac @ buzzfeed.com , or via one of our tip line channels .
On Thursday , Zuckerberg told employees that the increased use of mail-in ballots due to the pandemic will likely lead to a situation where election results will not be available `` for days '' or `` for weeks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ commentators may attempt to try to call an election early , in which case the company may label a post explaining that results are not yet final .
Zuckerberg did not have a clear answer for what the company would do should Trump declared the election results invalid .
`` This is where we 're in unprecedented territory with the president saying some of the things that he 's saying that I find quite troubling , '' he said .
`` We 're thinking through what policy may be appropriate here .
This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thing to work through . ''
While there are signs Facebook will stand up to Trump in cases where he violates its rules — as on Wednesday when it removed a video post from the president in which he claimed that children are “ almost immune ” to COVID-19 — there are others who suggest the company is caving to critical voices on the right .
In another recent Workplace post , a senior engineer collected internal evidence that showed Facebook was giving preferential treatment to prominent conservative accounts to help them remove @ @ @ @ @ @ @ responded by removing his post and restricting internal access to the information he cited .
On Wednesday the engineer was fired , according to internal posts seen by BuzzFeed News .
With heightened internal tensions and morale at a low point , concerns about how the company handles fact-checked content have exploded in an internal Workplace group dedicated to misinformation policy .
Last Friday , at another all-hands meeting , employees asked Zuckerberg how right-wing publication Breitbart News could remain a Facebook News partner after sharing a video that promoted unproven treatments and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ novel coronavirus .
The video racked up 14 million views in six hours before it was removed from Breitbart ’ s page , though other accounts continued to share it .
Zuckerberg danced around the question but did note that Breitbart could be removed from the company 's news tab if it were to receive two strikes for publishing misinformation within 90 days of each other .
( Facebook News partners , which include dozens of publications such as BuzzFeed News and the Washington Post , receive compensation and placement in a special @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) “ This was certainly one strike against them for misinformation , but they do n't have others in the last 90 days , ” Zuckerberg said .
“ So by the policies that we have , which by the way I think are generally pretty reasonable on this , it does n't make sense to remove them.
” But some of Facebook ’ s own employees gathered evidence they say shows Breitbart — along with other right-wing outlets and figures including Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk , Trump supporters Diamond and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Prager University — has received special treatment that helped it avoid running afoul of company policy .
They see it as part of a pattern of preferential treatment for right-wing publishers and pages , many of which have alleged that the social network is biased against conservatives .
“ We defer to third-party fact-checkers on the rating that a piece of content receives , '' Facebook spokesperson Liz Bourgeois said in a statement .
`` When a fact checker applies a rating , we apply a label and demotion .
But we are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ systems for repeat offenders .
We apply additional system wide penalties for multiple false ratings , including demonetization and the inability to advertise , unless we determine that one or more of those ratings does not warrant additional consequences . ''
On July 22 , a Facebook employee posted a message to the company ’ s internal misinformation policy group noting that some misinformation strikes against Breitbart had been cleared by someone at Facebook seemingly acting on the publication 's behalf .
“ A Breitbart escalation marked ‘ urgent : end of day @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , with all misinformation strikes against Breitbart ’ s page and against their domain cleared without explanation , ” the employee wrote .
The same employee said a partly false rating applied to an Instagram post from Charlie Kirk was flagged for “ priority ” escalation by Joel Kaplan , the company ’ s vice president of global public policy .
Kaplan once served in George W. Bush ’ s administration and drew criticism for publicly supporting Brett Kavanaugh ’ s controversial nomination to the Supreme Court .
Aaron Sharockman , the executive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a contact at Facebook did call to discuss Kirk ’ s post .
“ We had a call with them where they wanted to know how this post was aligned with the program , ” Sharockman said .
`` Was this just a minor inaccuracy or was it something that we thought was something that had potential harmful effects ? ''
PolitiFact did not change its rating on the post .
“ We stuck to our guns there , ” Sharockman said .
Past Facebook employees , including Yaël Eisenstat , Facebook 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have expressed concerns with Kaplan ’ s influence over content enforcement decisions .
She previously told BuzzFeed News a member of Kaplan 's Washington policy team attempted to influence ad enforcement decisions for an ad placed by a conservative organization .
Facebook did not respond to questions about why Kaplan would personally intervene in matters like this .
These and other interventions appear to be in violation of Facebook ’ s official policy , which requires publishers wishing to dispute a fact check rating to contact the Facebook fact-checking partner responsible .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ intervening in fact-checks on behalf of *exclusively* right-wing publishers , to avoid them getting repeat-offender status , ” wrote another employee in the company ’ s internal “ misinformation policy ” discussion group .
Individuals that spoke out about the apparent special treatment of right-wing pages have also faced consequences .
In one case , a senior Facebook engineer collected multiple instances of conservative figures receiving unique help from Facebook employees , including those on the policy team , to remove fact-checks on their content .
His July post was removed because it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ communication policy.
” After the engineer ’ s post was removed , the related internal “ tasks ” he ’ d cited as examples of the alleged special treatment were made private and inaccessible to employees , according to a Workplace post from another employee .
“ Personally this makes me so angry and ashamed of this company , ” wrote the employee in support of their colleague .
The engineer joined the company in 2016 and most recently worked on Instagram .
He left the company on Wednesday .
One employee on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said that they had received permission from the engineer to say that the dismissal “ was not voluntary.
” In an internal post before his dismissal , the engineer said he was “ told to expect to be contacted by legal and HR if my post is found to be violating other policies in addition to Respectful Comms.
” Facebook denied the employee had been terminated for the post but said it was because `` they broke the company 's rules . ''
“ We have an open culture and encourage employees to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' Bourgeois said .
News of his firing caused some Facebook employees to say that they now fear speaking critically about the company in internal discussions .
One person said they were deleting old posts and comments , while another said this was “ hardly the first time the respectful workplace guidelines have been used to snipe a prominent critic of company policies/ethics.
” “ [ He ] was a conscience of this company , and a tireless voice for us doing the right thing , ” said another employee .
The terminated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be named for fear of repercussions .
The internal evidence gathered by the engineer aligns with the experience of a journalist who works for one of Facebook ’ s US fact-checking partners .
They told BuzzFeed News that conservative pages often complain directly to the company .
“ Of the publishers that don ’ t follow the procedure , it seems to be mostly ones on the right .
Instead of appealing to the fact-checker they immediately call their rep at Facebook , ” said the journalist , who declined to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ speak publicly .
“ They jump straight up and say ‘ censorship , First Amendment , freedom.
’ ” “ I think Facebook is a bit afraid of them because of the Trump administration , ” they added .
Facebook typically assigns dedicated partner managers to pages with large followings or big ad budgets .
They help their clients maximize their use of the platform .
But in the cases identified in the engineer 's post , partner reps appear to have sought preferential treatment for right-wing publishers .
This resulted in phone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Facebook , and instances where misinformation strikes appear to have been removed from content without a fact-checker ’ s knowledge or involvement .
A Facebook employee ’ s July 22 post restating the engineer ’ s findings identified multiple cases in which a fact-check complaint from a right-wing page was escalated and in some cases resolved in the account ’ s favor the same day .
According to the post , Joel Kaplan flagged a fact check of a Charlie Kirk Instagram post for resolution “ ASAP/before 12 p.m.
ET ” .
This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was part of a “ two weeks long effort ” to prevent the site from being given Repeat Offender status , a designation that would have limited its reach and advertising privileges .
Citing “ partner sensitivity , '' the rep noted that PragerU runs a lot of ads , and argued that the content in question qualified as opinion and was therefore exempt from being fact-checked .
Facebook did not answer questions about why a partner manager would cite ad volume as a reason for not acting against a group of pages @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at Facebook have never asked them to change a rating .
But Facebook reps do reach out to discuss whether a post is opinion or otherwise outside of the scope of the program .
“ We have had discussions where our partners have asked us , ‘ Why did you fact check this ?
Why did you come to this conclusion ?
How do you think it fits within the scope of Facebook 's rules or regulations within fact-checking ?
’ ” he said .
`` We sometimes reach out to fact-checkers to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ program , '' Bourgeois said .
Mark Provost manages multiple large progressive Facebook pages , including The Other 98 % , one of the biggest on the platform .
He said his Facebook partner manager is far less responsive than what the Facebook employee documented for Provost ’ s counterparts on the right .
And he ’ s not aware of any case where Facebook contacted a fact-checker on his behalf .
“ We do n't get a message back for 10 days , ” Provost said of Facebook .
“ I imagine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ better deal.
” His Other 98 % page is currently at risk of deletion because it has three strikes .
Provost said one strike is for a hate speech violation three months ago , though as of now no one at Facebook has told him what the offending post was .
His partner representative said they would look into it , according to Provost .
That was last week and he says he still hasn ’ t received an update .
“ I 'm getting so frustrated with this , ” Provost said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if Facebook were as responsive as the fact-checking companies that they 've assigned.
” Provost said Facebook ’ s fact-checking partners are easy to deal with when he contacts them to dispute a rating .
In some cases , he provided additional proof of his claim to get a rating changed ; in other cases , he corrected the offending post and the false rating was removed .
The fact-checker who spoke to BuzzFeed News said most page owners follow the policy and contact them to dispute a rating .
But in some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Facebook partner manager assigned to work with fact-checkers .
“ They will ask us , ‘ Could you take a look at this again ?
Are you sure ?
’ ” the checker said .
In other cases , Facebook itself will quietly remove a fact-check applied by one of its partners .
That appears to be what happened with a March 25 post from Diamond and Silk .
The duo wrote on Facebook , “ How the hell is allocating 25 million dollars in order to give a raise to house members @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about Americans , going to help stimulate America 's economy ?
Tell me how ?
# PutAmericansBackToWorkNow.
” Lead Stories , a Facebook fact-checking partner , rated the post false .
Diamond and Silk initially followed the proper procedure and appealed directly to Lead Stories .
“ They were detailed in their appeal and we replied promptly , ” Alan Duke , the editor-in-chief of Lead Stories , told BuzzFeed News .
“ The result was that we decided that a false rating initially given their content should be revised downward to ‘ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ false rating apparently didn ’ t satisfy Diamond and Silk , who reportedly lost their online Fox News show after spreading coronavirus misinformation .
As detailed in the July 22 internal Facebook post , Diamond and Silk appealed to their partner manager , who opened an internal ticket for the issue .
The Facebook rep argued the post was opinion and warned that the duo “ is extremely sensitive and has not hesitated going public about their concerns around alleged conservative bias on Facebook.
” While the partly false fact-check is still visible @ @ @ @ @ @ @ removed the strike against their account internally .
The Facebook employee said “ someone described on the task as ‘ Policy/Leadership ’ made the call to not only completely remove this strike , but also the one from January.
” PolitiFact ’ s Sharockman said he does n't know what goes on inside Facebook when it comes to applying or removing strikes for misinformation .
All the Facebook fact-checking partners can do is try to be honest , even if the other parties involved aren ’ t .
`` We 're trying to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and open and transparent .
And no one else is .
Everyone else is using the system to their personal benefit . ''
●

On Facebook’s internal message boards, discussion about the Trump election question remained civil prior to Thursday’s all-hands meeting. Employees debated the merits of censoring a sitting president’s potentially false statements about election results with one person noting that “it would be a really troubling policy to apply globally.”
"America can't afford for Facebook to take a wait-and-see approach when it comes to the integrity of our democracy,” said Jesse Lehrich, a former foreign policy spokesperson to Hillary Clinton and cofounder of Accountable Tech, a nonprofit advocacy group. “Unless they proactively outline clear policies and enforcement mechanisms to safeguard the election, the platform will be weaponized to undermine it."
Do you work at Facebook or another technology company? We'd love to hear from you. Reach out at craig.silverman@buzzfeed.com, ryan.mac@buzzfeed.com, or via one of our tip line channels.
On Thursday, Zuckerberg told employees that the increased use of mail-in ballots due to the pandemic will likely lead to a situation where election results will not be available "for days" or "for weeks." He noted political figures and commentators may attempt to try to call an election early, in which case the company may label a post explaining that results are not yet final.
Zuckerberg did not have a clear answer for what the company would do should Trump declared the election results invalid.
"This is where we're in unprecedented territory with the president saying some of the things that he's saying that I find quite troubling," he said. "We're thinking through what policy may be appropriate here. This is obviously going to be a sensitive thing to work through."
While there are signs Facebook will stand up to Trump in cases where he violates its rules — as on Wednesday when it removed a video post from the president in which he claimed that children are “almost immune” to COVID-19 — there are others who suggest the company is caving to critical voices on the right. In another recent Workplace post, a senior engineer collected internal evidence that showed Facebook was giving preferential treatment to prominent conservative accounts to help them remove fact-checks from their content.
The company responded by removing his post and restricting internal access to the information he cited. On Wednesday the engineer was fired, according to internal posts seen by BuzzFeed News.
“Intervening in Fact-Checks”
With heightened internal tensions and morale at a low point, concerns about how the company handles fact-checked content have exploded in an internal Workplace group dedicated to misinformation policy.
Last Friday, at another all-hands meeting, employees asked Zuckerberg how right-wing publication Breitbart News could remain a Facebook News partner after sharing a video that promoted unproven treatments and said masks were unnecessary to combat the novel coronavirus. The video racked up 14 million views in six hours before it was removed from Breitbart’s page, though other accounts continued to share it.
Zuckerberg danced around the question but did note that Breitbart could be removed from the company's news tab if it were to receive two strikes for publishing misinformation within 90 days of each other. (Facebook News partners, which include dozens of publications such as BuzzFeed News and the Washington Post, receive compensation and placement in a special news tab on the social network.)
“This was certainly one strike against them for misinformation, but they don't have others in the last 90 days,” Zuckerberg said. “So by the policies that we have, which by the way I think are generally pretty reasonable on this, it doesn't make sense to remove them.”
But some of Facebook’s own employees gathered evidence they say shows Breitbart — along with other right-wing outlets and figures including Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, Trump supporters Diamond and Silk, and conservative video production nonprofit Prager University — has received special treatment that helped it avoid running afoul of company policy. They see it as part of a pattern of preferential treatment for right-wing publishers and pages, many of which have alleged that the social network is biased against conservatives.
“We defer to third-party fact-checkers on the rating that a piece of content receives," Facebook spokesperson Liz Bourgeois said in a statement. "When a fact checker applies a rating, we apply a label and demotion. But we are responsible for how we manage our internal systems for repeat offenders. We apply additional system wide penalties for multiple false ratings, including demonetization and the inability to advertise, unless we determine that one or more of those ratings does not warrant additional consequences."
On July 22, a Facebook employee posted a message to the company’s internal misinformation policy group noting that some misinformation strikes against Breitbart had been cleared by someone at Facebook seemingly acting on the publication's behalf.
“A Breitbart escalation marked ‘urgent: end of day’ was resolved on the same day, with all misinformation strikes against Breitbart’s page and against their domain cleared without explanation,” the employee wrote.
The same employee said a partly false rating applied to an Instagram post from Charlie Kirk was flagged for “priority” escalation by Joel Kaplan, the company’s vice president of global public policy. Kaplan once served in George W. Bush’s administration and drew criticism for publicly supporting Brett Kavanaugh’s controversial nomination to the Supreme Court.
Aaron Sharockman, the executive director of PolitiFact, told BuzzFeed News a contact at Facebook did call to discuss Kirk’s post.
“We had a call with them where they wanted to know how this post was aligned with the program,” Sharockman said. "Was this just a minor inaccuracy or was it something that we thought was something that had potential harmful effects?"
PolitiFact did not change its rating on the post. “We stuck to our guns there,” Sharockman said.
Past Facebook employees, including Yaël Eisenstat, Facebook's former global election ads integrity lead, have expressed concerns with Kaplan’s influence over content enforcement decisions. She previously told BuzzFeed News a member of Kaplan's Washington policy team attempted to influence ad enforcement decisions for an ad placed by a conservative organization.
Facebook did not respond to questions about why Kaplan would personally intervene in matters like this.


buzzfeed--2020-08-08--The Truth Behind A Viral Picture Of A Reopening School Is Worse Than It Looked

An alarming photo of a hallway crowded by mostly maskless students in a Georgia high school raises issues with reopening schools all around the country .
Behind a viral photo of a crowded hallway at a high school in Georgia , a potentially dire situation is brewing .
Students , teachers , and parents fear the Paulding County school ’ s rushed reopening plans may be spiraling out of control just two days after students — who said they were told they could face expulsion for remaining home — returned to class despite reports of positive coronavirus cases among students @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , about an hour outside Atlanta , reopened Monday despite an outbreak among members of its high school football team , many of whom , a Facebook video shows , worked out together in a crowded indoor gym last week as part of a weightlifting fundraiser .
Within days of that workout , several North Paulding players had tested positive for the coronavirus .
The school ’ s parents were notified just hours before the first day of class .
And multiple teachers at North Paulding say there are positive tests among school @ @ @ @ @ @ @ came into contact with most teachers at the school while exhibiting symptoms last week .
Teachers and staff said the school won ’ t confirm coronavirus infections among district employees , citing privacy reasons .
`` That was exactly one week ago , so we are all waiting to see who gets sick next week , ” a North Paulding teacher told BuzzFeed News of her exposure to the virus .
Despite recommendations from CDC health officials , the district has called mask-wearing a “ personal choice ” and said that social distancing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” in “ most cases.
” While the school provided teachers with face shields and masks and encouraged staff and students to wear them , they are not required and not all teachers have chosen to use them .
One North Paulding teacher resigned last month over concerns about virus safety .
We want your help !
If you have a tip about how schools are reopening in your district , reach us securely at tips.buzzfeed.com .
“ Days before school even started , they knew that many of the football players were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with the issues at the high school .
“ They knew from before day one that it was n't going to work.
” Some students at North Paulding say they were forced to attend school in person because all of the slots for the district ’ s virtual learning option were filled .
A narrow sign-up window for virtual classes meant many parents missed their opportunity to enroll their children online .
James , a North Paulding senior , said he came to school Tuesday because his mother was unable to enroll him @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mask , but many of his classmates did not .
And while some classes practiced distancing , in one , a teacher had pushed together students ’ desks to allow for group work .
His name has been changed in the story because of concerns about retribution from the school .
“ It ’ s the hallway situation that has me most paranoid , ” he said .
“ There ’ s a lot of people in the hallways , and you can ’ t do nothing about it , so it ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of one of those hallways , crammed with largely maskless students and with just a handful of masks in sight , that spread across the internet Tuesday .
The district superintendent , Brian Otott , sent a message to parents in the wake of the photo .
He offered “ context ” for the photograph : “ Class changes that look like this may happen , especially at a high school with more than 2,000 students.
” There was little the district could do , he said , beyond encouraging masks .
Neither @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Schools responded to multiple requests for comment .
According to a person familiar with North Paulding High School , the plan shared with teachers said hallways were supposed to be one-way ; the photograph was taken in one of the only two-laned hallways in the school .
But the one-lane hallways had their own downsides , causing students to walk long routes between classes — spending more time in exposed common areas .
James ’ parents saw the photograph that had been circulating Tuesday and told him , “ You are not going @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
But a few hours later , his mother had spoken to the school and was told that students who “ chose not to go to school ” could face suspension or expulsion .
On Wednesday , he went back to school .
“ I had no choice , ” he said .
North Paulding teachers said they too felt they had no choice but to show up to work , even after a staff member texted colleagues saying she had tested positive for the virus .
The staffer had attended planning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
She did not attend school after testing positive .
But teachers have heard nothing from the school , they said , which won ’ t confirm that staff members have tested positive , citing privacy concerns .
“ A lot of us are terrified , and they wo n't let us know if we have been exposed until a state contact tracer has contacted us , ” one teacher said .
“ These teachers are deeply concerned for their health , especially the older ones and those with major health problems @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a North Paulding teacher .
Amy , a school nurse , resigned from Paulding County Schools in July over concerns about virus safety .
She said under the school district ’ s plan , school nurses were supposed to act as contact tracers for thousands of kids and staff , and that a district plan to sequester children believed to be exposed until their parents could pick them up seemed insufficient .
“ I did not want to have any part of that , ” she said .
“ It was completely and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she shared with BuzzFeed News , she wrote , “ Masks are not a ‘ personal choice ’ during a pandemic .
I can not return knowing I am not supportive of your decision to open so quickly and not at least mandate masks.
” Many other parents and family members of students in Paulding County , however , are not concerned about the risk of attending school in person .
The district said the majority of parents had chosen in-person schooling , despite the overfilling of its virtual schools .
“ We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said Mary Wells , the grandmother of multiple students in the district , referring to Republican Gov .
Brian Kemp .
“ He has done a great job and the school administrators in Paulding are doing the best they can in this insane time.
” Anthony Fauci , the country ’ s top infectious disease official , has been openly critical of Kemp for his decision this spring to reopen the state , allow indoor dining , and not mandate masks .
The school district cited the fact that the rate of infection @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Georgia as part of its reason for deciding to reopen , but cases throughout the state have been high and the case numbers in counties that border Paulding — including Polk , Cobb , and Bartow — are high .
Many other districts have delayed reopening .
Meanwhile , in Cherokee County , Georgia , a second-grader who went back to school there on Monday has tested positive for COVID-19 , according to CBS News .
Chelsea Gibson has two children attending grade school in Paulding County .
In June , Gibson @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and two children all contracted COVID-19 , and her husband ’ s breathing grew so labored that she said she nearly took him to the emergency room .
In the end , the family recovered , although Gibson said she still has residual breathing issues .
The whole family recovered from the virus several weeks before school started .
On Monday , both of her kids went back to school in person .
Because she works full-time and the entire household shares a single desktop computer , Gibson said she didn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ We couldn ’ t do online at all , ” she said .
“ It wasn ’ t feasible.
” The mother is on the school council at Northside Elementary , where her kids are enrolled , and she said she feels very confident that the school ’ s plan for keeping students and teachers safe is a good one .
There ’ s limited passing in the halls , most teachers have opted to wear masks , and students ’ lunches are delivered to their classrooms so they don ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ They are going above and beyond , ” she said .
But she ’ s worried the unfolding disaster at North Paulding High School will make the precautions taken in the grade schools moot and force her kids back home , where they ’ ll once again pick up paper packets from school and be unable to learn from a teacher for months .
“ I feel like they handled that completely wrong , ” she said of the coronavirus outbreak among the football team .
“ These individual schools that are handling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up for the entire district.
” “ In the end it ’ s going to hurt all the students who can ’ t go back to school , ” she continued .
“ My kids need to go back to school so they can learn.
” As they watched the photograph of their school hallway spread across the Internet , some North Paulding students said they felt their school was being treated unfairly .
Virtual learning was not an option for many low-income students without access to devices , or for students in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one student pointed out .
And Kemp himself has refused a mask mandate .
Steven , a North Paulding student who asked that only his middle name be used , said he felt safe going to school without a mask .
Most of the hallways he encountered , he said , were far less crowded than in the one in the photograph .
And the virus itself , he said , didn ’ t seem like “ much of a problem ” in Paulding County .
“ I ’ ve only known three @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the football players , obviously , ” Steven said .
“ If I get it , I get it .
I believe that ’ s what most people in my area 's ideology is — if we get it , we get it.
” Steven said he didn ’ t want to let worries about spreading the virus to his family control his life .
“ Most of my family , including my grandparents , think the same as well , ” he said .
“ We just go on about our business @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” On Wednesday , the school addressed the controversy that had swirled around the viral photograph via an intercom announcement from North Paulding High School principal Gabe Carmona .
In it , according to two people familiar with the situation , he stated that any student found criticizing the school on social media could face disciplinary consequences .

North Paulding teachers said they too felt they had no choice but to show up to work, even after a staff member texted colleagues saying she had tested positive for the virus. The staffer had attended planning sessions while exhibiting symptoms, one teacher said.
She did not attend school after testing positive. But teachers have heard nothing from the school, they said, which won’t confirm that staff members have tested positive, citing privacy concerns.
“A lot of us are terrified, and they won't let us know if we have been exposed until a state contact tracer has contacted us,” one teacher said.
“These teachers are deeply concerned for their health, especially the older ones and those with major health problems,” said a family member of a North Paulding teacher.
Amy, a school nurse, resigned from Paulding County Schools in July over concerns about virus safety. She said under the school district’s plan, school nurses were supposed to act as contact tracers for thousands of kids and staff, and that a district plan to sequester children believed to be exposed until their parents could pick them up seemed insufficient.
“I did not want to have any part of that,” she said. “It was completely and totally irresponsible.”
In a resignation letter she shared with BuzzFeed News, she wrote, “Masks are not a ‘personal choice’ during a pandemic. I cannot return knowing I am not supportive of your decision to open so quickly and not at least mandate masks.”
Many other parents and family members of students in Paulding County, however, are not concerned about the risk of attending school in person. The district said the majority of parents had chosen in-person schooling, despite the overfilling of its virtual schools.
“We have faith in our governor,” said Mary Wells, the grandmother of multiple students in the district, referring to Republican Gov. Brian Kemp. “He has done a great job and the school administrators in Paulding are doing the best they can in this insane time.”
Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease official, has been openly critical of Kemp for his decision this spring to reopen the state, allow indoor dining, and not mandate masks. The school district cited the fact that the rate of infection in Paulding County is lower than elsewhere in Georgia as part of its reason for deciding to reopen, but cases throughout the state have been high and the case numbers in counties that border Paulding — including Polk, Cobb, and Bartow — are high. Many other districts have delayed reopening. Meanwhile, in Cherokee County, Georgia, a second-grader who went back to school there on Monday has tested positive for COVID-19, according to CBS News.
Chelsea Gibson has two children attending grade school in Paulding County. In June, Gibson, her husband, her mother-in-law, and two children all contracted COVID-19, and her husband’s breathing grew so labored that she said she nearly took him to the emergency room. In the end, the family recovered, although Gibson said she still has residual breathing issues.
The whole family recovered from the virus several weeks before school started. On Monday, both of her kids went back to school in person. Because she works full-time and the entire household shares a single desktop computer, Gibson said she didn’t even consider the virtual learning option.
“We couldn’t do online at all,” she said. “It wasn’t feasible.”
The mother is on the school council at Northside Elementary, where her kids are enrolled, and she said she feels very confident that the school’s plan for keeping students and teachers safe is a good one. There’s limited passing in the halls, most teachers have opted to wear masks, and students’ lunches are delivered to their classrooms so they don’t eat together in the cafeteria.
“They are going above and beyond,” she said.
But she’s worried the unfolding disaster at North Paulding High School will make the precautions taken in the grade schools moot and force her kids back home, where they’ll once again pick up paper packets from school and be unable to learn from a teacher for months.
“I feel like they handled that completely wrong,” she said of the coronavirus outbreak among the football team. “These individual schools that are handling it wrong are going to mess it up for the entire district.”
“In the end it’s going to hurt all the students who can’t go back to school,” she continued. “My kids need to go back to school so they can learn.”


buzzfeed--2020-08-09--A Former Bernie Sanders Campaign Staffer Is Stuck In A Belarus Jail Cell, Charged With Disrupting Th

A Former Bernie Sanders Campaign Staffer Is Stuck In A Belarus Jail Cell, Charged With Disrupting The Peace

In his first communication with Western media since his detention , Shkliarov denied the charges and told BuzzFeed News through Gashinsky that he believes the charges are retaliation for his public criticism of President Alexander Lukashenko .
If convicted , Shkliarov could be fined or imprisoned for up to three years , or both , according to the criminal code under which he ’ s charged .
The lawyer , Anton Gashinsky , said that authorities also allege Shkliarov violated the “ legitimate demands of government officials , resulting in disruption of transport , enterprises , institutions , and organizations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Belarusian citizen who as the spouse of a US diplomat holds an American diplomatic passport , is being held because of “ group actions that grossly violate public order , '' according to Shkliarov 's lawyer .
KYIV — Belarus on Friday charged a former campaign staffer for Bernie Sanders and Barack Obama with allegedly organizing an illegal political rally for the candidate running against the country ’ s authoritarian president in Sunday ’ s election , his lawyer told BuzzFeed News .
The jailing and indictment of Shkliarov is the latest in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ heavy-handed authorities ahead of Sunday ’ s presidential election .
Neither the State Department nor the Belarusian authorities responded immediately to requests for comment .
More than 1,300 people , including journalists and election monitors , have been detained ahead of the poll , according to the Viasna human rights group .
Thirty-three Russian military contractors accused of trying to destabilize the country have also been detained .
Authorities allege that Shkliarov is responsible for organizing a May 29 event in the western Belarusian city of Grodno where popular vlogger Sergei Tikhanovsky was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , to run for president .
Tikhanovsky was detained at the event and remains in jail , while his wife has gone on to build an extraordinary campaign that has rallied Belarusians who told BuzzFeed News they are hungry for change after 26 years under the iron-fisted rule of President Alexander Lukashenko .
Lukashenko has been accused by international watchdogs of human rights abuses over the course of his five terms in office .
International election monitors have deemed all but his first election victory rigged .
This year , the government has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Shkliarov runs a popular Telegram channel where he publishes analysis about political events in the US , Russia , Ukraine , and Belarus .
A week before he was detained , he also blasted Lukashenko for his use of “ populism and brute force ” in a column published with Forbes Russia .
Shkliarov , a fluent English speaker and a self-described political junkie , is based along with his wife in Washington but makes frequent trips to Eastern Europe .
His most recent campaign work came in 2018 , when he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a Russian socialite who went on to lose the election to President Vladimir Putin .
Shkliarov worked on the 2016 presidential campaign of Sanders as director of mobilization for Nevada and on President Obama ’ s 2012 reelection campaign , during which he ran a team of some 40 organizers , according to CNN .
Shkliarov told BuzzFeed news through his lawyer that he was in his hometown of Gomel with his son to visit his mother , who has cancer , and his father when he was detained on July 29 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s home to buy a watermelon .
He said he didn ’ t get far before agents from Belarus ’ s KGB security service “ kidnapped ” him and hauled him to a pretrial detention center in Minsk .
He had only enough time to send one word to followers of his Telegram social media channel : “ Arrested.
” On July 31 , the country ’ s deputy prosecutor general ordered Shkliarov to remain in pretrial detention , according to Gashinsky .
Since then , Shkliarov said through his lawyer , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and endured horrific conditions .
In one case , he said he was crammed into an overcrowded cell inside a damp basement with mold and cockroaches , as well as inmates who were constantly smoking .
Gashinsky has filed complaints about Shkliarov ’ s detention and the conditions in which he is being held but said they have been ignored by authorities .
Little had been mentioned publicly about Shkliarov in Belarus until Thursday , when Lukashenko in public remarks carried by the Belta news agency spoke about a US passport holder who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Some people were detained with American passports , married to Americans , working in the State Department , ” Lukashenko said , likely alluding to Shkliarov .

The jailing and indictment of Shkliarov is the latest in a crackdown by Belarus’s notoriously heavy-handed authorities ahead of Sunday’s presidential election.
Neither the State Department nor the Belarusian authorities responded immediately to requests for comment.
More than 1,300 people, including journalists and election monitors, have been detained ahead of the poll, according to the Viasna human rights group. Thirty-three Russian military contractors accused of trying to destabilize the country have also been detained.
Authorities allege that Shkliarov is responsible for organizing a May 29 event in the western Belarusian city of Grodno where popular vlogger Sergei Tikhanovsky was collecting signatures for his wife, Svetlana, to run for president.
Tikhanovsky was detained at the event and remains in jail, while his wife has gone on to build an extraordinary campaign that has rallied Belarusians who told BuzzFeed News they are hungry for change after 26 years under the iron-fisted rule of President Alexander Lukashenko.
Lukashenko has been accused by international watchdogs of human rights abuses over the course of his five terms in office. International election monitors have deemed all but his first election victory rigged. This year, the government has banned outside monitors from observing the vote.
Shkliarov runs a popular Telegram channel where he publishes analysis about political events in the US, Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. A week before he was detained, he also blasted Lukashenko for his use of “populism and brute force” in a column published with Forbes Russia.
Shkliarov, a fluent English speaker and a self-described political junkie, is based along with his wife in Washington but makes frequent trips to Eastern Europe. His most recent campaign work came in 2018, when he served as senior adviser for Ksenia Sobchak, a Russian socialite who went on to lose the election to President Vladimir Putin.
Shkliarov worked on the 2016 presidential campaign of Sanders as director of mobilization for Nevada and on President Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign, during which he ran a team of some 40 organizers, according to CNN.
Shkliarov told BuzzFeed news through his lawyer that he was in his hometown of Gomel with his son to visit his mother, who has cancer, and his father when he was detained on July 29; he had just left the family’s home to buy a watermelon.
He said he didn’t get far before agents from Belarus’s KGB security service “kidnapped” him and hauled him to a pretrial detention center in Minsk. He had only enough time to send one word to followers of his Telegram social media channel: “Arrested.”
On July 31, the country’s deputy prosecutor general ordered Shkliarov to remain in pretrial detention, according to Gashinsky.
Since then, Shkliarov said through his lawyer, he has changed jail cells several times and endured horrific conditions. In one case, he said he was crammed into an overcrowded cell inside a damp basement with mold and cockroaches, as well as inmates who were constantly smoking.
Gashinsky has filed complaints about Shkliarov’s detention and the conditions in which he is being held but said they have been ignored by authorities.
Little had been mentioned publicly about Shkliarov in Belarus until Thursday, when Lukashenko in public remarks carried by the Belta news agency spoke about a US passport holder who had been taken into custody. “Some people were detained with American passports, married to Americans, working in the State Department,” Lukashenko said, likely alluding to Shkliarov.


buzzfeed--2020-08-09--Facebook Fired An Employee Who Collected Evidence Of Right-Wing Pages Getting Preferential Treatment


buzzfeed--2020-08-09--This Photo Of Bella Hadid Flipping Off The NYPD For Not Wearing Masks Has Over A Million Likes On In

This Photo Of Bella Hadid Flipping Off The NYPD For Not Wearing Masks Has Over A Million Likes On Instagram

In a later post on Instagram , the soon-to-be-aunt wrote , `` # WEARAMASK we wear masks to not only @ @ @ @ @ protect our loved ones and our communities .
Even if your local police force isn @ @ @ @ @ doesn ’ t mean you don ’ t have to . ''

In a later post on Instagram, the soon-to-be-aunt wrote, "#WEARAMASK we wear masks to not only protect ourselves, but to protect our loved ones and our communities. Even if your local police force isn’t wearing them, doesn’t mean you don’t have to."


buzzfeed--2020-08-09--19 Celebrities Who Are Brutally Honest About How Hard Breastfeeding Is

`` [ I ] felt so lucky to be so close to her and give her that start .
I know many women are not able to and for that I am sympathetic and very grateful that I could .
For six wonderful months , '' Hilary wrote on Instagram about breastfeeding her daughter , Banks .
`` But I needed a break .
I was going to break .
With the stress of a dropping milk supply and a baby that was getting bored or not caring about nursing when I was available to , I was sad and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the time .
When really I ’ m a badass rock star ...
I wasn ’ t myself at all .
Something scary was hovering over my brain and my heart ... the part of me that I know is smart and rational .
The lows felt horrible ...
I am happy to say that I haven ’ t fed or pumped in three days and it ’ s crazy how fast you can come out on the other side .
I feel fine and happy and relieved and silly that I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Banks is thriving and I get even more time with her and daddy gets to do more feeds !
And mommy gets a tiny bit more sleep ! ''

For many, the image of breastfeeding is one of total serenity: a glowing mom peacefully feeding her baby with a smile. But, in reality, it's a lot less pretty, at least most of the time, and especially in the beginning. Breastfeeding can be really, really hard — and it doesn't help that the stigma of "breast is best" is still rampant over the thought that "a fed baby is a well-fed baby." So it might be reassuring that even the moms with every resource at their disposal can struggle.


buzzfeed--2020-08-10--Facebook Fired An Employee Who Collected Evidence Of Right-Wing Pages Getting Preferential Treatment


buzzfeed--2020-08-10--19 Celebrities Who Are Brutally Honest About How Hard Breastfeeding Is


buzzfeed--2020-08-10--Belarusians Clashed With Riot Police After Their “Dictator” President Claimed Victory

President Alexander Lukashenko has claimed a sixth election victory .
But his incumbent challenger , a former English teacher , said she won ’ t recognize the results .
KYIV — Riot police violently suppressed thousands of protesters who poured into the streets of the Belarusian capital , Minsk , to challenge the results of Sunday ’ s hotly contested presidential election .
President Alexander Lukashenko , who has ruled Belarus with an iron first for 26 years , claimed a landslide victory in the election , which was marred by accusations of vote-rigging .
The Belarusian Central Election Commission @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 80 % of the vote while his surprise challenger , Svetlana Tikhanovskaya , finished second with just 9 % .
Authorities did not allow any independent observers to monitor the vote .
But on Monday , Tikhanovskaya claimed victory for herself .
“ We do not recognize the election results .
We saw real ballots , ” she was quoted by local media as saying .
“ We urge those who believe that their vote was stolen not to remain silent.
” She also said she was prepared to sit down with Lukashenko @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , who was busy touring an agricultural facility and getting back to business , did not respond to the request on Monday .
Tikhanovskaya , a 37-year-old former English teacher and homemaker , rose from obscurity after the jailing of her would-be candidate husband , a popular vlogger , to gather the largest political rallies in Belarus since the fall of the Soviet Union .
According to her and to independent local media reports that published documents with the tallies , several precincts in Minsk showed her with 70 % to 80 % @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from a polling station , an election commission member is seen climbing down a ladder from a second-story window and being handed a bag presumably full of ballots .
Early Monday morning , Tikhanovskaya announced that she would not concede to Lukashenko or recognize the votes .
Many thousands of her supporters spilled into the streets of Minsk and several other cities across the country after polls closed Sunday night .
The protesters marched through Minsk with their cellphones illuminated in the night sky before hundreds of armed security forces — many of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ earlier in the day — began dispersing them .
Videos and photographs shared by independent Belarusian news outlets showed police officers hurling stun grenades and tear gas canisters into the crowds while people chanted “ Long live Belarus !
” and “ Go away !
” and “ This is our country !
” Police were also seen firing rubber bullets at demonstrators and deploying water cannons and anti-riot vehicles to push the crowds back .
Officers were seen on video chasing down protesters and clubbing them with batons before dragging some into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some cases , officers were briefly overrun by groups of protesters .
Meanwhile , authorities managed to limit internet access and cellphone service , and to take down independent news websites , making it difficult for anyone to find information about the events and to communicate .
As night turned to early morning , the streets of Minsk were covered in blood , and tear gas hung in the air .
Reports said more than 3,000 protesters had been detained by police and jailed .
The human rights group Viasna reported that at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ injuries when a police truck ran him over .
Several others were being treated for a variety of wounds inflicted by police .
An Associated Press photographer was reportedly detained and beaten unconscious in the back of a police van .
Belarus ’ s Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that 39 law enforcement officers and more than 50 protesters had been wounded in all .
Clashes were also reported in some 20 other cities , including Grodno and Brest in the country ’ s west .
But in some of the smaller cities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ refused to crack down on protesters .
Videos shared online showed one group retreating and another putting down their shields .
A protester is seen in one video approaching an officer and hugging him .
Overnight , Tikhanovskaya called on police forces to immediately halt attacks on demonstrators and for her supporters to stop any provocative actions .
“ I want to ask the militia and troops to remember that they are part of the people , ” she said .
“ Please , stop the violence.
” Tikhanovskaya was part of an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to capture Belarusians ’ imagination with a promise of change and three simple hand gestures that have become symbols of hope for people tired of Lukashenko : ✌✊❤ .
The women did so after several male candidates were barred from running and Lukashenko allowed Tikhanovskaya to register — something that now appears to have been a big political miscalculation .
Veronika Tsepkalo , one of the trio and a campaign advisor for Tikhanovskaya , told BuzzFeed News that she believed Lukashenko underestimated the potential of a female candidate .
Famously known as “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lukashenko has won five previous elections , although only the first one in 1994 was ruled free and fair by independent observers .
He enjoyed strong support from Belarusians for years , mainly thanks to economic stability .
But that support seemed to come to an end in recent months due to egregious human rights abuses , a stagnant economy , and his failure to properly handle the coronavirus pandemic , which has ripped through the population of 9.5 million .
While Lukashenko looks to move on , Tikhanovskaya ’ s chief of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Monday that their team was ready for a long protest .
And the candidate herself said she would do everything possible to overturn the results .

KYIV — Riot police violently suppressed thousands of protesters who poured into the streets of the Belarusian capital, Minsk, to challenge the results of Sunday’s hotly contested presidential election.
President Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus with an iron first for 26 years, claimed a landslide victory in the election, which was marred by accusations of vote-rigging. The Belarusian Central Election Commission said preliminary results indicated that he won 80% of the vote while his surprise challenger, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, finished second with just 9%. Authorities did not allow any independent observers to monitor the vote.
But on Monday, Tikhanovskaya claimed victory for herself. “We do not recognize the election results. We saw real ballots,” she was quoted by local media as saying. “We urge those who believe that their vote was stolen not to remain silent.”
She also said she was prepared to sit down with Lukashenko to discuss the situation. But Lukashenko, who was busy touring an agricultural facility and getting back to business, did not respond to the request on Monday.
Tikhanovskaya, a 37-year-old former English teacher, rose from obscurity after the jailing of her would-be candidate husband, a popular vlogger, to gather the largest political rallies in Belarus since the fall of the Soviet Union. According to her and to independent local media reports that published documents with the tallies, several precincts in Minsk showed her with 70% to 80% of the vote. In one video from a polling station, an election commission member is seen climbing down a ladder from a second-story window and being handed a bag presumably full of ballots.
Early Monday morning, Tikhanovskaya announced that she would not concede to Lukashenko or recognize the votes.


buzzfeed--2020-08-10--This Photo Of Bella Hadid Flipping Off The NYPD For Not Wearing Masks Has Over A Million Likes On In


buzzfeed--2020-08-11--People Are Sharing The Worst Sex Advice They Got In School, And It's Horrifying

`` Did anyone else get the tape thing ?
My teacher took two pieces of tape and stuck them to @ @ @ @ @ then peel them off and re-stick them to her sleeves getting the back side of @ @ @ @ @ time .
She said that the pieces of tape were people and every time she @ @ @ @ @ it represented them having sex with a different person .
Eventually when she put them @ @ @ @ @ very well from all shirt fibers and this meant they were so emotionally disconnected they @ @ @ @ @ bond .
So do n't have sex or you 'll be a broken shell of @ @ @ @ @ . ''

11.
"Did anyone else get the tape thing? My teacher took two pieces of tape and stuck them to her sleeves. She would then peel them off and re-stick them to her sleeves, getting the back side of the tape more linty each time. She said that the pieces of tape were people, and every time she put them on her sleeve, it represented them having sex with a different person. Eventually, when she put them together, they didn't stick very well from all of the shirt fibers, and this meant they were so emotionally disconnected that they couldn't form a lasting bond. So don't have sex or you'll be a broken shell of a person unable to love."


buzzfeed--2020-08-11--A Video Of Shia LaBeouf Getting Tested For COVID Went Viral Because Of How Wholesome It Is

The nose swab test can be pretty uncomfortable .
Yesterday , I saw a grown man squirm while being tested @ @ @ @ @ having a swab up his nose .
And as someone who 's been tested a @ @ @ @ @ I can say that while it 's not the worst thing , it 's definitely @ @ @ @ @ handled it like a champ .

The nose swab test can be pretty uncomfortable. Yesterday, I saw a grown man squirm while being tested because he couldn't stand having a swab up his nose. And as someone who's been tested a couple of times already, I can say that while it's not the worst thing, it's definitely not great. But Shia handled it like a champ.


buzzfeed--2020-08-11--Fans Feared LaKeith Stanfield Was Thinking Of Harming Himself, But He Confirmed He's "Ok"

Just got confirmation Lakeith is okay .
Sorry if I overreacted .
Okay getting off Twitter for awhile .
Text @ @ @ @ @ ’ t texted or DM ’ ed in awhile and tell them a cool memory @ @ @ @ @ Good night .

Just got confirmation Lakeith is okay. Sorry if I overreacted. Okay getting off Twitter for awhile. Text or DM someone you haven’t texted or DM’ed in awhile and tell them a cool memory you have about them. Good night.


buzzfeed--2020-08-12--Trump's Attempted Attacks On Kamala Harris Are All Over The Place

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump tested out disorganized lines of attack against Kamala Harris on Tuesday , just about an hour after Joe Biden announced she would be his running mate .
He settled into none of them , instead raising broad denunciations and frequently reverting back to calling Harris `` nasty . ''
Trump rattled off policies Harris ran on during her bid for president , mentioning taxes and fracking , and then incorrectly claiming she wants to take away health insurance from Americans .
“ She 's in favor of socialized medicine , ” he said .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ plans away from 180 million Americans.
” Harris had campaigned on a health care plan that was designed as a more moderate Medicare for All , leaving room for private insurers .
Trump called her nasty a handful of times , particularly in how she treated Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his 2018 confirmation hearings .
He also commented on her debate strategy during the Democratic primary .
“ Plus she was very , very nasty to — one of the reasons that surprised me — she was very , she was probably nastier @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Trump said of Harris while using the derogatory nickname he ’ s often used for Sen. Elizabeth Warren .
“ She was very disrespectful to Joe Biden.
” That attack alone — that Harris was “ nasty ” because she was disrespectful of Biden — is odd coming from someone who regularly attacks Biden and many other people he disagrees with first by calling them insulting nicknames .
During a call with reporters after the president spoke , Trump ’ s reelection campaign gave mixed messaging on Harris ’ record as attorney @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the fight for suburban women could potentially play out , Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee said voters understand they ’ ll be safer with Trump .
Blackburn then deferred to senior campaign adviser Katrina Pierson ’ s earlier comments , who conversely spoke to Harris being overly tough on crime .
Pierson later clarified to say , Harris “ was going after the wrong people.
” But the attacks on Harris ’ record on crime will be tricky as the president tries to promote himself as a law and order president .

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump tested out disorganized lines of attack against Kamala Harris on Tuesday, just about an hour after Joe Biden announced she would be his running mate.
He settled into none of them, instead raising broad denunciations and frequently reverting back to calling Harris "nasty."
Trump rattled off policies Harris ran on during her bid for president, mentioning taxes and fracking, and then incorrectly claimed she wants to take away health insurance from Americans.
“She's in favor of socialized medicine,” he said. “She wants to take your healthcare plans away from 180 million Americans.” Harris had campaigned on a healthcare plan that was designed as a more moderate Medicare for All, leaving room for private insurers.
Trump called her nasty a handful of times, particularly in how she treated Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his 2018 confirmation hearings. He also commented on her debate strategy during the Democratic primary.
“Plus she was very, very nasty to — one of the reasons that surprised me — she was very, she was probably nastier than even Pocahontas to Joe Biden,” Trump said of Harris while using the derogatory nickname he’s often used for Sen. Elizabeth Warren. “She was very disrespectful to Joe Biden.”
That attack alone — that Harris was “nasty” because she was disrespectful of Biden — is odd coming from someone who regularly attacks Biden and many other people he disagrees with first by calling them insulting nicknames.
During a call with reporters after the president spoke, Trump’s reelection campaign gave mixed messaging on Harris’s record as attorney general in California. When asked how the fight for suburban women could potentially play out, Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee said voters understand they’ll be safer with Trump. Blackburn then deferred to senior campaign adviser Katrina Pierson’s earlier comments, conversely saying Harris was being overly tough on crime.
Pierson later clarified to say Harris “was going after the wrong people.” But the attacks on Harris’s record on crime will be tricky as the president tries to promote himself as a law and order president.


buzzfeed--2020-08-11--Kamala Harris Is Joe Biden's Pick For Vice President

The California senator , who ran for president herself last year , will be the first Black woman on a major party presidential ticket .
Joe Biden has chosen Sen. Kamala Harris of California , at one point his most critical rival for the Democratic presidential nomination , to be his running mate .
`` You make a lot of important decisions as president , '' Biden said in an email to supporters Tuesday afternoon .
`` But the first one is who you select to be your Vice President .
I ’ ve decided that Kamala Harris is the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fight to Donald Trump and Mike Pence and then to lead this nation starting in January 2021 . ''
Harris would be the first female , Black , and Asian American vice president .
To Biden , who will be 78 on Inauguration Day , Harris represents a potential generational successor to his long career in public service .
A former vice president himself , he has talked of being a “ bridge ” to a new era of politicians — like Harris , the 55-year-old daughter of immigrants from Jamaica and India @ @ @ @ @ @ @ around Biden ’ s campaign that he might not seek a second term if he beats President Donald Trump .
`` I need someone working alongside me who is smart , tough , and ready to lead , '' Biden wrote in the email .
`` Kamala is that person . ''
Harris , who is scheduled to join Biden for an event in Wilmington , Delaware on Wednesday , tweeted that she was `` honored '' to join the ticket .
House Majority Whip James Clyburn , an influential South Carolina Democrat @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , praised Harris 's selection Tuesday in a conference call with reporters .
`` What we have experienced here today is one more chapter in this country living out it 's true creed : That all men — and , in this instance , women — are created equal , '' Clyburn said .
`` Those of us who have been battling for years now , tying to get this country forward , toward a more perfect union are very , very pleased with the day . ''
Harris is likely to serve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ against Trump .
As the former top prosecutor in San Francisco and later for the state of California , Harris had built her own presidential bid as a prosecution of Trump , with a national profile that was elevated by her grilling of Trump administration officials during Senate hearings .
She advocated for police reform as district attorney , implementing early training for police against racial bias and spearheading efforts to reduce recidivism among low-level offenders .
Other parts of Harris ’ s record as a tough-on-crime prosecutor , however , have been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and they could put Biden further out of step with young voters and progressives who have embraced calls to “ defund the police.
” A longtime ally of former president Barack Obama , Harris also had been close with Beau Biden , Biden ’ s late son and political heir , before he died of brain cancer in 2015 .
`` I first met Kamala through my son Beau , '' Biden said in his Tuesday email .
`` They were both Attorneys General at the same time .
He had enormous respect @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thought a lot about that as I made this decision .
There is no one ’ s opinion I valued more than Beau ’ s and I ’ m proud to have Kamala standing with me on this campaign . ''
On Tuesday night , a photographer with the campaign tweeted a photo of the two of them speaking over video chat .
Biden ’ s original list of vice presidential possibilities included more than a dozen women , including other former 2020 rivals , such as Sens .
Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Klobuchar , whose prosecutorial record at home came under scrutiny after Minneapolis police killed George Floyd , an unarmed Black man , withdrew from consideration in June . )
In late July , Biden told MSNBC ’ s Joy Reid that four Black women , among others , remained in the running .
He didn ’ t reveal names , but his campaign at points had signaled interest in Reps. Val Demings of Florida and Karen Bass of California , former Georgia lawmaker Stacey Abrams , former US national security adviser Susan Rice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
A Biden–Harris pairing became unthinkable to many after she got the better of him during the first Democratic debate last year in Miami .
Harris — at the time struggling to break out in a field of candidates who were bunched up behind Biden , the frontrunner — called back to his opposition to busing as a means to racially integrate schools in the 1970s .
“ I do not believe you are a racist , ” she began as she criticized Biden for boasting about his amicable working relationships with segregationist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ There was a little girl in California who was part of the second class to integrate her public schools , and she was bused to school every day , ” Harris added .
“ And that little girl was me.
” Biden , caught off guard , stumbled through a response .
Afterward , his allies grumbled that Harris ’ s attack was out of bounds , especially given her relationship with Beau when both served as state attorneys general .
Some Biden team insiders in the weeks that followed talked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the vice presidency that night .
And Biden began the next debate by jokingly telling her , “ Go easy on me , kid , ” a comment that came across as patriarchal and condescending .
When Biden ’ s search for a running mate began , he talked of finding someone with whom he was “ simpatico ” and called back to the partnership he had with Obama , who found in Biden a trusted adviser worthy of a meaningful White House role .
As Biden ’ s search deepened , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no bad vibes lingered with Harris .
After Biden won the South Carolina primary and cleaned up on Super Tuesday , Harris , who ended her campaign two months before the first caucuses in Iowa , endorsed him and was prepared to hit the trail as a surrogate .
She and Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey , another one-time 2020 contender , joined Biden and Michigan Gov .
Gretchen Whitmer at a campaign rally in Detroit in March .
It was there that Biden offered himself as a transitional figure — a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was Biden ’ s last major event before the coronavirus pandemic shut down traditional campaigning .
Harris also joined Biden ’ s wife , Jill , for a virtual fundraiser in late June .
Around that time , a campaign spokesperson quoted by the Washington Post dismissed as “ rumors ” any suggestion that Jill and Valerie Biden Owens , the former vice president ’ s sister and longtime adviser , were unhappy with Harris .
But other tensions within the campaign over Harris became public in recent weeks , after Politico reported @ @ @ @ @ @ @ helped steer Biden ’ s vice presidential search , was unhappy that Harris seemed unremorseful about her attack at the first debate and some Biden donors labeled her overly “ ambitious.
” The attacks on her ambition were read by many as sexist , especially as it ’ s not exactly unusual for a politician who has run successful campaigns for multiple competitive offices to be ambitious .
`` I thought it was problematic , '' Clyburn said Tuesday when asked about the fairness of those concerns about Harris 's loyalty and ambition @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anyone asking a man a question like that . ''
Clyburn also characterized Harris 's debate clash with Biden as proof of her toughness .
`` The fact of the matter is , there was never any hatchet to bury , '' Clyburn said .
`` The fact is , I think that Joe Biden was a bit surprised by that question .
But I do believe that Kamala Harris demonstrated with that question that she was willing to take the fight to the opposition . ''
At a July 29 news conference @ @ @ @ @ @ @ revealed he ’ d make his pick soon , he himself was prepared to deescalate the Harris drama .
An Associated Press photographer captured notes Biden had made in case he was asked about her .
The first talking point ?
“ Do not hold grudges .
”

Joe Biden has chosen Sen. Kamala Harris of California, at one point his most critical rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, to be his running mate.
"You make a lot of important decisions as president," Biden said in an email to supporters Tuesday afternoon. "But the first one is who you select to be your Vice President. I’ve decided that Kamala Harris is the best person to help me take this fight to Donald Trump and Mike Pence and then to lead this nation starting in January 2021."
Harris would be the first female, Black, and Asian American vice president.
To Biden, who will be 78 on Inauguration Day, Harris represents a potential generational successor to his long career in public service. A former vice president himself, he has talked of being a “bridge” to a new era of politicians — like Harris, the 55-year-old daughter of immigrants from Jamaica and India. There also has been persistent speculation around Biden’s campaign that he might not seek a second term if he beats President Donald Trump.
"I need someone working alongside me who is smart, tough, and ready to lead," Biden wrote in the email. "Kamala is that person."
Harris, who is scheduled to join Biden for an event in Wilmington, Delaware on Wednesday, tweeted that she was "honored" to join the ticket.