buzzfeed--2020-06-25--This Woman's Boyfriend Wants To Have A Threesome With Her Best Friend — What Should She Do?

And then there 's the fact that he keeps pushing this idea on you , despite what I imagine must @ @ @ @ @ discomfort on your part whenever he does .
Frankly , anything less than an enthusiastic @ @ @ @ @ you should have been his cue to drop it .
At this point , he @ @ @ @ @ 's crossed the line from `` merely suggesting '' into `` pressuring , '' and @ @ @ @ @

And then there's the fact that he keeps pushing this idea on you, despite what I imagine must be some obvious, visible discomfort on your part whenever he does. Frankly, anything less than an enthusiastic "hell yes" from you should have been his cue to drop it. At this point, he should be aware that he's crossed the line from "merely suggesting" into "pressuring," and that's not cool.


buzzfeed--2020-06-25--Attorney General Bill Barr Is Facing A Rare Public Revolt From Within His Own Department

WASHINGTON — The House Judiciary Committee heard Wednesday from two current Justice Department prosecutors who testified that decisions from Attorney General Bill Barr and others at the highest levels of the department had been improperly influenced by politics and the personal desires of President Donald Trump .
In less than a week , Barr has faced two instances of extraordinary public pushback from within his own department .
Just days before the hearing , the then-sitting US attorney in Manhattan , Geoffrey Berman , took to Twitter to publicly rebuke an effort by Barr to remove him from office .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the course of 24 hours , and Berman ultimately only agreed to leave once he was satisfied with a new succession plan .
It ’ s common to see former political appointees and prosecutors criticize policies and prosecutorial decisions that they disagree with once they leave the department .
It ’ s highly unusual to have current employees and officials air grievances in such a public way .
Aaron Zelinsky , an assistant US attorney in Maryland who had worked in special counsel Robert Mueller ’ s office , testified by video on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ officials to contradict Zelinsky and other line prosecutors ’ recommendation of a stiff sentence for Trump ally Roger Stone was motivated by the president ’ s desire to “ cut Stone a break.
” Zelinsky said that a supervisor told him that Timothy Shea , the interim US attorney in Washington , DC , at the time gave Stone special treatment because Shea was “ afraid of the president.
” John Elias , a prosecutor in the Justice Department ’ s Antitrust Division , testified that Barr had ordered an investigation into mergers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ staff in the Antitrust Division that a probe wasn ’ t justified .
Elias said that the head of the division , Makan Delrahim , told employees at an all-staff meeting that the investigation was taking place because the cannabis industry wasn ’ t popular “ on the fifth floor , ” a reference to where the attorney general has his office in the DOJ headquarters building in Washington .
Elias also testified about problems he saw with a decision by department leadership to open an antitrust investigation into an agreement between California @ @ @ @ @ @ @ emissions standards that went beyond what the Environmental Protection Agency was planning to do .
Trump had tweeted his disapproval of the California agreement on Aug. 21 , 2019 .
The next day , Elias told lawmakers on Wednesday , officials in the Antitrust Division ordered staff to open an investigation .
Both the Senate and House have held numerous hearings over the years on Justice Department controversies and sought testimony from current and former officials involved , but any criticism of the department generally came from witnesses who were no longer working @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Senate held hearings in 2007 about allegations that nine US attorneys were fired the previous year for a variety of improper political reasons , then–attorney general Alberto Gonzales and other senior DOJ officials testified in defense of the department ’ s actions .
One former senior DOJ official , Monica Goodling , testified that she ’ d “ gone too far ” in asking applicants for career jobs at the department political questions ; she denied being involved in the firing scandal .
Goodling only testified after she ’ d resigned , however @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the US attorney in North Dakota for five years during the Obama administration , said in an interview with BuzzFeed News that he was struggling to think of a similar situation in recent DOJ history when active career prosecutors had spoken out to criticize the department , or when a US attorney publicly fought with the attorney general .
He said the US attorney firings under President George W. Bush was one instance when internal DOJ tensions became public .
As for Berman ’ s pushback , Purdon cited the Watergate scandal during @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of senior DOJ officials resigned during the “ Saturday Night Massacre ” rather than follow Nixon ’ s order to fire the special prosecutor .
“ I can ’ t think of any precedent for this , ” Purdon said of the past week ’ s public pushback from Berman and the two prosecutors .
“ To the extent I ’ m grasping for analogies for both of these situations , I have to turn to two of the darkest episodes in the history of the Department of Justice , and that ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ federal laws and Justice Department policies that allow career employees like Zelinsky and Elias to lodge complaints and allegations of misconduct within the department .
Zelinsky on Wednesday was careful to limit his testimony to the Stone case , which he said he ’ d received permission from the department to testify about .
Republican members of the committee attempted to question him about the Mueller investigation , and Zelinsky replied that he needed to go back to department officials to get approval to speak about that .
Mueller ’ s office originally @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a longtime political operative and ally of Trump 's who was charged with lying to Congress about his contacts with WikiLeaks and witness tampering .
After Mueller ’ s office shuttered in the spring of 2019 , the US attorney ’ s office in DC took over Stone ’ s case ; Zelinsky , who had been an assistant US attorney before joining Mueller ’ s team , continued to work on the case .
A jury found Stone guilty on all seven counts in November .
Leading up to Stone ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the other prosecutors filed a sentencing memo recommending Stone face between seven to nine years in prison .
Zelinsky testified that his team had been pressured by senior leadership in the US attorney ’ s office to recommend a lower sentence for Stone , and that a supervisor said Shea ’ s instructions were rooted in “ political considerations , ” but they ultimately got approval to file the memo they ’ d written .
Trump objected to the recommendation , tweeting early in the morning the next day that it would be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Stone to serve that long .
Later that day , the Justice Department filed another “ supplemental ” sentencing memo in Stone ’ s case , this time signed by another career official , John Crabb , the acting head of the US attorney office ’ s criminal division .
That memo walked back the earlier recommendation , saying a sentence of seven to nine years would be “ excessive and unwarranted under the circumstances.
” Crabb wrote that the department ’ s position was to defer to the judge on what was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prosecutors withdrew from the case ; Zelinsky also left his temporary assignment to the DC office and went back to the Maryland US attorney ’ s office .
Zelinsky testified on Wednesday that he ’ d asked to speak with Shea about the decision to change the recommendation , but was not granted a meeting .
Zelinsky said that assistant US attorneys from across the country contacted him later to express their disappointment with the department ’ s handling of the Stone case .
“ I was disappointed because we took an oath @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the law , to follow the department ’ s policy , and to do what ’ s right , and what happened here was wrong , ” Zelinsky said .
In response to Zelinsky ’ s prepared testimony in advance of Wednesday ’ s hearing , DOJ spokesperson Kerri Kupec released a statement saying that Zelinsky ’ s allegations of political interference “ are based on his own interpretation of events and hearsay ( at best ) , not first-hand knowledge.
” “ The Attorney General determined the high sentence proposed by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was excessive and inconsistent with similar cases .
In the interest of ensuring the imposition of a fair sentence , the Attorney General directed Tim Shea , who was then U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia , to leave the sentencing to the discretion of the judge , ” Kupec said .
“ The judge ultimately sentenced Mr. Stone to half the time that the line prosecutors had originally proposed .
As he has previously stated , the Attorney General did not discuss the sentencing of Roger Stone with the President or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had made the decision to correct the filing before the President tweeted about the case.
” Kupec also announced that Barr would testify before the House Judiciary Committee himself on July 28 .
Elias testified that the investigations into the cannabis industry and automakers ’ agreement with California unfolded in ways that broke with standard practices in antitrust investigations .
Staff who had assessed one of the cannabis industry mergers determined it was unlikely to raise competitive concerns , and that was relayed to Barr , but he still ordered the additional probe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were overruled when they voiced concerns about going ahead with a full investigation into the California agreement without first doing an initial analysis to determine if there was a legal and factual basis for it , he said .
In response to Elias ’ s testimony , another DOJ spokesperson , Brianna Herlihy , put out a statement saying the department “ strongly disagrees ” with his claims that officials acted inappropriately .
Elias said he filed a complaint with the department ’ s inspector general .
According to Herlihy , there were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the cannabis industry probe , and those were handled by the DOJ Office of Professional Responsibility , or OPR , a separate office that investigates attorney misconduct allegations .
That office ’ s findings aren ’ t public , but Herlihy said OPR determined that it was appropriate for the Antitrust Division to seek information about mergers within the industry .
The department closed the California investigation in February .
Herlihy said it was legitimate to probe whether the agreement between the state and automakers was anticompetitive , and when department officials concluded @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it .

WASHINGTON — The House Judiciary Committee heard Wednesday from two current Justice Department prosecutors who testified that decisions from Attorney General Bill Barr and others at the highest levels of the department had been improperly influenced by politics and the personal desires of President Donald Trump.
In less than a week, Barr has faced two instances of extraordinary public pushback from within his own department. Just days before the hearing, the then-sitting US attorney in Manhattan, Geoffrey Berman, took to Twitter to publicly rebuke an effort by Barr to remove him from office. The two men exchanged barbed statements over the course of 24 hours, and Berman ultimately only agreed to leave once he was satisfied with a new succession plan.
It’s common to see former political appointees and prosecutors criticize policies and prosecutorial decisions that they disagree with once they leave the department. It’s highly unusual to have current employees and officials air grievances in such a public way.
Aaron Zelinsky, an assistant US attorney in Maryland who had worked in special counsel Robert Mueller’s office, testified by video on Wednesday that a decision by senior DOJ officials to contradict Zelinsky and other line prosecutors’ recommendation of a stiff sentence for Trump ally Roger Stone was motivated by the president’s desire to “cut Stone a break.” Zelinsky said that a supervisor told him that Timothy Shea, the interim US attorney in Washington, DC, at the time gave Stone special treatment because Shea was “afraid of the president.”
John Elias, a prosecutor in the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, testified that Barr had ordered an investigation into mergers in the cannabis industry despite findings from staff in the Antitrust Division that a probe wasn’t justified. Elias said that the head of the division, Makan Delrahim, told employees at an all-staff meeting that the investigation was taking place because the cannabis industry wasn’t popular “on the fifth floor,” a reference to where the attorney general has his office in the DOJ headquarters building in Washington.
Elias also testified about problems he saw with a decision by department leadership to open an antitrust investigation into an agreement between California and four car manufacturers on air quality emissions standards that went beyond what the Environmental Protection Agency was planning to do. Trump had tweeted his disapproval of the California agreement on Aug. 21, 2019. The next day, Elias told lawmakers on Wednesday, officials in the Antitrust Division ordered staff to open an investigation.
Both the Senate and House have held numerous hearings over the years on Justice Department controversies and sought testimony from current and former officials involved, but any criticism of the department generally came from witnesses who were no longer working at DOJ.
When the House and Senate held hearings in 2007 about allegations that nine US attorneys were fired the previous year for a variety of improper political reasons, then–attorney general Alberto Gonzales and other senior DOJ officials testified in defense of the department’s actions. One former senior DOJ official, Monica Goodling, testified that she’d “gone too far” in asking applicants for career jobs at the department political questions; she denied being involved in the firing scandal. Goodling only testified after she’d resigned, however.
Timothy Purdon, who served as the US attorney in North Dakota for five years during the Obama administration, said in an interview with BuzzFeed News that he was struggling to think of a similar situation in recent DOJ history when active career prosecutors had spoken out to criticize the department, or when a US attorney publicly fought with the attorney general.
He said the US attorney firings under President George W. Bush was one instance when internal DOJ tensions became public. As for Berman’s pushback, Purdon cited the Watergate scandal during the Nixon administration, when a series of senior DOJ officials resigned during the “Saturday Night Massacre” rather than follow Nixon’s order to fire the special prosecutor.
“I can’t think of any precedent for this,” Purdon said of the past week’s public pushback from Berman and the two prosecutors. “To the extent I’m grasping for analogies for both of these situations, I have to turn to two of the darkest episodes in the history of the Department of Justice, and that’s a bad sign.”
There are federal laws and Justice Department policies that allow career employees like Zelinsky and Elias to lodge complaints and allegations of misconduct within the department. Zelinsky on Wednesday was careful to limit his testimony to the Stone case, which he said he’d received permission from the department to testify about. Republican members of the committee attempted to question him about the Mueller investigation, and Zelinsky replied that he needed to go back to department officials to get approval to speak about that.
Mueller’s office originally brought the criminal case against Stone, a longtime political operative and ally of Trump's who was charged with lying to Congress about his contacts with WikiLeaks and witness tampering. After Mueller’s office shuttered in the spring of 2019, the US attorney’s office in DC took over Stone’s case; Zelinsky, who had been an assistant US attorney before joining Mueller’s team, continued to work on the case.
A jury found Stone guilty on all seven counts in November. Leading up to Stone’s sentencing hearing in February, Zelinsky and the other prosecutors filed a sentencing memo recommending Stone face between seven to nine years in prison. Zelinsky testified that his team had been pressured by senior leadership in the US attorney’s office to recommend a lower sentence for Stone, and that a supervisor said Shea’s instructions were rooted in “political considerations,” but they ultimately got approval to file the memo they’d written.
Trump objected to the recommendation, tweeting early in the morning the next day that it would be a “miscarriage of justice” for Stone to serve that long.
Later that day, the Justice Department filed another “supplemental” sentencing memo in Stone’s case, this time signed by another career official, John Crabb, the acting head of the US attorney office’s criminal division. That memo walked back the earlier recommendation, saying a sentence of seven to nine years would be “excessive and unwarranted under the circumstances.” Crabb wrote that the department’s position was to defer to the judge on what was appropriate.
Zelinsky and the other three prosecutors withdrew from the case; Zelinsky also left his temporary assignment to the DC office and went back to the Maryland US attorney’s office. Zelinsky testified on Wednesday that he’d asked to speak with Shea about the decision to change the recommendation, but was not granted a meeting.
Zelinsky said that assistant US attorneys from across the country contacted him later to express their disappointment with the department’s handling of the Stone case.
“I was disappointed because we took an oath to do our job, to follow the law, to follow the department’s policy, and to do what’s right, and what happened here was wrong,” Zelinsky said.
In response to Zelinsky’s prepared testimony in advance of Wednesday’s hearing, DOJ spokesperson Kerri Kupec released a statement saying that Zelinsky’s allegations of political interference “are based on his own interpretation of events and hearsay (at best), not first-hand knowledge.”
“The Attorney General determined the high sentence proposed by the line prosecutors in the Roger Stone case was excessive and inconsistent with similar cases. In the interest of ensuring the imposition of a fair sentence, the Attorney General directed Tim Shea, who was then U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, to leave the sentencing to the discretion of the judge,” Kupec said. “The judge ultimately sentenced Mr. Stone to half the time that the line prosecutors had originally proposed. As he has previously stated, the Attorney General did not discuss the sentencing of Roger Stone with the President or anyone else at the White House and had made the decision to correct the filing before the President tweeted about the case.”
Kupec also announced that Barr would testify before the House Judiciary Committee himself on July 28.
Elias testified that the investigations into the cannabis industry and automakers’ agreement with California unfolded in ways that broke with standard practices in antitrust investigations. Staff who had assessed one of the cannabis industry mergers determined it was unlikely to raise competitive concerns, and that was relayed to Barr, but he still ordered the additional probe, Elias said.
Career staff similarly were overruled when they voiced concerns about going ahead with a full investigation into the California agreement without first doing an initial analysis to determine if there was a legal and factual basis for it, he said.
In response to Elias’s testimony, another DOJ spokesperson, Brianna Herlihy, put out a statement saying the department “strongly disagrees” with his claims that officials acted inappropriately.
Elias said he filed a complaint with the department’s inspector general. According to Herlihy, there were complaints from “anonymous whistleblowers” about the cannabis industry probe, and those were handled by the DOJ Office of Professional Responsibility, or OPR, a separate office that investigates attorney misconduct allegations. That office’s findings aren’t public, but Herlihy said OPR determined that it was appropriate for the Antitrust Division to seek information about mergers within the industry.
The department closed the California investigation in February. Herlihy said it was legitimate to probe whether the agreement between the state and automakers was anticompetitive, and when department officials concluded it wasn’t, they ended it.


buzzfeed--2020-06-25--The CDC Lost Control Of The Coronavirus Pandemic. Then The Agency Disappeared.

The world ’ s premier health agency pushed a flawed coronavirus containment strategy — until it disappeared from public view one day before the outbreak was declared a pandemic .
On January 17 , the world ’ s most trusted public health agency , the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , announced it was screening travelers from Wuhan , China , because of a new infectious respiratory illness striking that city .
It was the CDC ’ s first public briefing on the outbreak , coming as China reported 45 cases of the illness and two deaths linked to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Chinese health officials had not yet confirmed that the new illness was transmitted from person to person .
But there was reason to believe that it might be : four days earlier , officials in Thailand confirmed their first case , a traveler from Wuhan who had not visited the seafood market .
“ Based on the information that CDC has today , we believe the current risk from this virus to the general public is low , ” said Nancy Messonnier , the CDC ’ s director of the National Center @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , 54 , was a veteran of the CDC ’ s renowned Epidemiological Intelligence Service , where she had risen through the ranks during the national responses to the anthrax attacks and the previous decade ’ s swine flu pandemic to eventually head the agency ’ s vaccines center .
Most of the novel coronavirus ’ s infections apparently went “ from animals to people , ” she explained , and human transmission was “ limited.
” There were many reasons why the information the CDC had on January 17 was wrong .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ leaders withheld what they already knew about the virus from the World Health Organization .
It was wrong , perhaps , because Trump administration officials had cut CDC staffers in Beijing who might have reported the truth directly from China .
And it was wrong because past coronavirus outbreaks provided a false guide to an illness new to humanity .
That last reason — a fateful misjudgment of the basic biology of the virus — drove a flawed strategy to contain the outbreak .
In 17 press briefings from January to March , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ travelers , first from Wuhan and then from China , were quickly identified , traced , and isolated , it could “ slow and reduce ” the spread of the virus on US soil .
Believing people without symptoms did n't spread the virus , the agency limited testing , discouraged masking , and left the country blinded by a faulty COVID-19 test .
Then , when the containment strategy 's failure became undeniable , just one day before the WHO declared the outbreak a pandemic — the CDC disappeared from public view @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we had an aggressive tracing program , but unfortunately , as the cases rose , it went beyond the capacity , ” CDC Director Robert Redfield later testified to Congress .
A fatal misunderstanding about the new virus At that first CDC coronavirus briefing , Messonnier explained what two other coronaviruses , MERS and SARS , could tell us about how to contain the mysterious new virus .
And she described the crux of their containment plan : stopping the disease from entering the US by screening for travelers with a fever and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ putting sick people in isolation .
“ We know from investigation of those two viruses that they are more likely to spread when somebody is more contagious , ” she said .
“ Asymptomatic people can spread , but at a much lower rate.
” SARS was a novel coronavirus whose outbreak in 2002 and 2003 killed 774 people , largely travelers and hospital personnel .
It was most contagious when someone was severely ill , making quarantines very effective because by the time someone was most contagious , they were usually already @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which has killed at least 845 people since 2012 , is likewise most often transmitted from terribly ill patients .
SARS-CoV-2 is entirely different .
We now know that COVID-19 patients have the heaviest viral load — and appear most infectious — at the onset of symptoms , not at the end .
People who haven ’ t yet developed any symptoms , and therefore wouldn ’ t show up in the CDC ’ s temperature checks , are responsible for more than 40 % of the virus ’ s spread .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ early in an infection will develop a fever .
In its first briefing , CDC officials acknowledged they still knew very little about the new virus .
“ CDC will adjust its screening and response procedures appropriately , ” said the CDC ’ s Marty Cetron , director of the Global Migration and Quarantine Division .
Three days later , China confirmed the virus spread from person to person .
Within a week , Chinese officials took the unprecedented move of quarantining Wuhan , a city of 11 million people , sending a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spread outside the hospital setting .
Nevertheless , the CDC stuck to its screening plan .
“ We are looking for returning travelers who have fever , cough , and respiratory symptoms , ” said Messonnier at the agency ’ s next briefing on January 23 .
At the following briefing , on January 27 , she reiterated the core assumption of the agency ’ s screening strategy : “ We at CDC don ’ t have any clear evidence of patients being infectious before symptom onset.
” We now know that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ soil by this time , with at least four lines of evidence supporting that conclusion .
There is the case of a Northern California woman who became sick on January 31 and died within a week .
And there is genetic evidence : The slow but steady mutation rate of the novel coronavirus , amounting to a few tiny changes every month , serves as a kind of footprint to track its spread .
Scientists currently believe that trail points to the virus ’ s spread starting in November in China and arriving @ @ @ @ @ @ @ through undetected , asymptomatic cases .
On January 30 , with 7,800 known cases in 22 countries , the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern .
The same day , the US announced the first case of person-to-person transmission of the virus in the country ; the husband of a Chicago woman who had acquired the illness in China .
The next day , Health and Human Service Secretary Alex Azar announced the outbreak was a national public health emergency , and the White House declared @ @ @ @ @ @ @ China .
China typically sent 14,000 air passengers a day into the US .
The order allowed the quarantine of anyone exposed to the virus , and both Redfield and Anthony Fauci , director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases , cited the risk of asymptomatic transmission to justify the action .
Despite the need for widespread testing made apparent by the reports of people without symptoms spreading the disease , the CDC ’ s criteria was very narrow : Only people with a fever , cough , and shortness @ @ @ @ @ @ @ province or had close contact with a confirmed patient could be tested .
Hospitalized patients with those symptoms who had traveled to China within the last 14 days could also get a test .
Driven in part by these restrictions , others with symptoms — including healthcare workers concerned about their exposure to the virus in hospitals — initially struggled to get tested .
Genetic tests for coronavirus work by detecting traces of signature genetic material from the virus called RNA .
The CDC developed a test that looked for three pieces of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The WHO , meanwhile , had been sending a reliable test made by the German Center for Infection Research worldwide since the middle of January .
China had five commercial tests already on the market by the beginning of February .
The US had only the CDC test , used on fewer than 250 people by February 1 and processed solely at the agency ’ s Atlanta headquarters .
When asked about the other testing options , Messonnier said the CDC preferred to have its own , more precise test .
Whatever the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ touted the authorization of its genetic test for wider use alongside FDA Chief Scientist Denise Hinton , who said her agency had sent the template for similar authorizations to 35 other test developers .
Things went bad quickly .
On February 9 , the Association of Public Health Laboratories sent a message to its member labs in all 50 states , notifying them that they ’ d had problems verifying the test .
In a press conference five days later , optimism about containing the virus began to fade , with Messonnier acknowledging @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” in the diagnostic test .
“ We must prepare for the possibility that at some point we may see sustained community spread in other countries or in the US , and this will trigger a change in our response strategies.
” Asked what that meant , Messonier replied that switching from containment to “ mitigation ” of the outbreak would mean “ social distancing , school closures , canceling mass gatherings , ” as well as “ teleschooling , telemedicine , teleworking ” — the first mention of such measures at a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s playbook on flu pandemics , Messonnier discouraged the public from using face masks , echoing similar advice from the WHO and US Surgeon General Jerome Adams .
Since masks were thought to prevent the transmission of a virus from coughing , health officials feared a run on surgical masks would keep them from reaching vulnerable public health workers in hospitals , where most infectious patients driving a coronavirus outbreak would be located .
In April , facing increasing pressure from public health experts , the CDC urged Americans to don cloth @ @ @ @ @ @ @ first noted by Redfield and Fauci at the end of January .
But the damage was done : Months later , the initial confusion over the utility of widespread use of face coverings has only made masks more of a political flashpoint .
Meanwhile , as February came to a close , the CDC ’ s test still wasn ’ t working in most labs .
An FDA official arrived to inspect the CDC ’ s lab on February 22 , a Saturday , but was not allowed in until the next day @ @ @ @ @ @ @ contamination fouling the test .
A June HHS investigation confirmed that the CDC ’ s Respiratory Virus Diagnostic Lab , which was assembling the reagents , was also likely contaminated .
The investigation noted that the agency skipped quality control testing on the kits before shipping them to public health labs .
Frustrated , the Association of Public Health Laboratories on February 25 requested that the FDA allow its labs across the country to go ahead with their own tests .
Only a dozen labs were able to run the CDC ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the federal health agency was running tests for only around 100 patients a day .
In her opening remarks at a fateful CDC briefing on February 25 , Messonnier finally dropped any pretense that the US would not suffer from the outbreak .
“ You should ask your children ’ s school about their plans for school dismissals or school closures , ” she said .
“ You should think about what you would do for childcare if schools or daycares close , if teleworking is an option for you.
” The remarks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , combined with a stock market drop , reportedly enraged President Donald Trump .
The next day , he replaced Azar with Vice President Mike Pence as chair of his coronavirus task force , which began daily briefings that would soon replace the CDC ’ s .
`` It 's going to disappear .
One day , it ’ s like a miracle , it will disappear , '' Trump said on February 27 , at a Black History Month reception .
The FDA and the CDC soon gave public health labs , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , permission to use their own tests instead of the CDC ’ s .
No other authorized tests were available yet for the virus in the US at the time , despite the FDA ’ s claim that 35 companies were working to develop their own tests at the beginning of the month .
Then , weeks after its first guidance was issued , the CDC broadened its criteria for testing patients , eliminating the travel requirement and allowing anyone with pneumonia to get tested .
One day later , Washington State Department @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tested positive for the coronavirus without any link to a travel-connected case , making it the first known case of community spread in the country .
In an interview with BuzzFeed News , the CDC pushed back against the notion that the health agency could have detected the spread of the virus earlier if it had not had such narrow testing guidelines and a defective test .
The CDC would have needed “ a huge amount of testing available at that time ” to detect the virus before it had started spreading on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a member of the agency ’ s COVID-19 Response Team who later worked on a report finding genetic signs of the coronavirus in the US since late January .
“ It still would have been difficult to pick up community transmission in early February .
I think probably at best we would have been able to pick it up a week or two earlier , ” Armstrong said .
“ You would have had to test everybody who comes to the emergency room , ” he added .
But many experts have noted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a challenge , not an impossibility .
“ The federal government has consistently underestimated the need for urgency around testing for this virus , ” said Boston University School of Public Health Dean Sandro Galea , adding that this misjudgment has been a fiasco for public health labs .
Two days later , on February 29 , those same Washington state officials reported the first suspected US death from COVID-19 , of a man in his fifties with an underlying illness .
They also reported the first outbreak in a nursing home , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Washington , where ultimately at least 43 residents died .
The same day , Gov .
Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency .
The virus was clearly loose in the US .
Asked on the day of the Life Care Center report whether nursing homes should be closed , Messonnier replied , “ Right now , we still judge the general risk to the American public to be low , and that includes residents of long-term care facilities.
” Another Washington state resident , a man in his seventies , died that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more died , bringing the death total in the US to six people .
Four of them were Life Care Center residents .
Nursing home residents would eventually account for about 40 % of coronavirus deaths in the US .
At the same CDC briefing on February 29 , Jeff Duchin of Seattle and King County ’ s public health office revealed that the man who had died was only eligible for testing because of the CDC ’ s updated recommendations .
“ If we had the ability to test earlier , I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ patients earlier in the community , ” he said .
Frieden , the former CDC chief , argued that the agency failed largely because it has been shackled to an inept administration .
“ The overarching problem has been the failure to have a clear national strategy , a national plan , and consistent communication .
Everything really stems from that , ” he said .
“ Hindsight really always is twenty-twenty , and there were absolutely mistakes made by CDC , but also by FDA , by HHS — and by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after more than 113,000 Americans had died in the pandemic , the CDC held its first briefing in three months .
In a presentation by CDC Director Redfield , he shared the agency ’ s recommendations for lowering the risk of infection as states begin to reopen .
Along with the CDC ’ s Jay Butler , deputy director for infectious diseases , he emphasized staying 6 feet apart , washing hands , and wearing cloth masks .
The pair deflected questions on whether the guidelines applied to mass rallies announced by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about the surges in cases currently hitting states like Arizona , Florida , and Texas , Butler suggested it could be explained by a rise in testing , a suggestion Fauci would dismiss in a congressional hearing two weeks later .
Messonnier was not on the call .
“ You know , I 'm hopeful that we 'll continue to have these dialogues , ” said Redfield at the close of the briefing .
” I want to thank you for what you do to help communicate the messages that we feel are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” ●

In her opening remarks at a fateful CDC briefing on February 25, Messonnier finally dropped any pretense that the US would not suffer from the outbreak. “You should ask your children’s school about their plans for school dismissals or school closures,” she said. “You should think about what you would do for childcare if schools or daycares close, if teleworking is an option for you.”
The remarks set off a news firestorm, which, combined with a stock market drop, reportedly enraged President Donald Trump. The next day, he replaced Azar with Vice President Mike Pence as chair of his coronavirus task force, which began daily briefings that would soon replace the CDC’s. "It's going to disappear. One day, it’s like a miracle, it will disappear," Trump said on February 27, at a Black History Month reception.
The FDA and the CDC soon gave public health labs, starting with New York state’s, permission to use their own tests instead of the CDC’s. No other authorized tests were available yet for the virus in the US at the time, despite the FDA’s claim that 35 companies were working to develop their own tests at the beginning of the month.
Then, weeks after its first guidance was issued, the CDC broadened its criteria for testing patients, eliminating the travel requirement and allowing anyone with pneumonia to get tested. One day later, Washington State Department of Health officials reported a teenager had tested positive for the coronavirus without any link to a travel-connected case, making it the first known case of community spread in the country.
In an interview with BuzzFeed News, the CDC pushed back against the notion that the health agency could have detected the spread of the virus earlier if it had not had such narrow testing guidelines and a defective test. The CDC would have needed “a huge amount of testing available at that time” to detect the virus before it had started spreading on US soil, said Greg Armstrong, a member of the agency’s COVID-19 Response Team who later worked on a report finding genetic signs of the coronavirus in the US since late January.
“It still would have been difficult to pick up community transmission in early February. I think probably at best we would have been able to pick it up a week or two earlier,” Armstrong said.
“You would have had to test everybody who comes to the emergency room,” he added.
But many experts have noted that this level of widespread testing was a challenge, not an impossibility. “The federal government has consistently underestimated the need for urgency around testing for this virus,” said Boston University School of Public Health Dean Sandro Galea, adding that this misjudgment has been a fiasco for public health labs.
Two days later, on February 29, those same Washington state officials reported the first suspected US death from COVID-19, of a man in his fifties with an underlying illness. They also reported the first outbreak in a nursing home, the Life Care Center of Kirkland, Washington, where ultimately at least 43 residents died. The same day, Gov. Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency.
The virus was clearly loose in the US.
Asked on the day of the Life Care Center report whether nursing homes should be closed, Messonnier replied, “Right now, we still judge the general risk to the American public to be low, and that includes residents of long-term care facilities.”
Another Washington state resident, a man in his seventies, died that Sunday. And on Monday, four more died, bringing the death total in the US to six people. Four of them were Life Care Center residents. Nursing home residents would eventually account for about 40% of coronavirus deaths in the US.
At the same CDC briefing on February 29, Jeff Duchin of Seattle and King County’s public health office revealed that the man who had died was only eligible for testing because of the CDC’s updated recommendations.
“If we had the ability to test earlier, I’m sure we would have identified patients earlier in the community,” he said.


buzzfeed--2020-06-24--A Judge Blocked The Deportation Of A 16-Year-Old Boy Who Claims Trump Is Using The Coronavirus As An

A Judge Blocked The Deportation Of A 16-Year-Old Boy Who Claims Trump Is Using The Coronavirus As An Excuse

People return to Mexico as others line up to request asylum in the US at the foot of the Puerta Mexico bridge in Matamoros , Mexico , that crosses into Brownsville , Texas , 2019 .
BuzzFeed News has reporters around the world bringing you trustworthy stories about the impact of the coronavirus .
To help keep this news free , become a member .
A federal court judge on Wednesday blocked the deportation of a 16-year-old boy as part of the first legal challenge to a controversial Trump administration policy that has turned back thousands of immigrants at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The lawsuit was filed in Washington , DC , by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of a 16-year-old Honduran boy who fled to the US to seek protection from persecution in his home country .
The teen , who was seeking to stop his imminent deportation , was the first to challenge an unprecedented policy that has all but shut down asylum at the southern border .
Administration officials have said they are following public health orders designed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in the US , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is using the health orders as an excuse to violate federal laws that govern the processing of unaccompanied minors .
Department of Homeland Security officials have turned away thousands of immigrants at the southern border by using a March order issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that bars the entry of those who cross into the country without authorization .
Advocates said the judge ’ s decision could be significant moving forward .
“ The court concluded that CDC and the Trump Administration likely lacked the authority to expel children @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” said Lee Gelernt , an ACLU attorney leading the case .
“ If the administration were to get away with using the public health laws as a deportation mechanism , it would be historically unprecedented.
” The order was issued by US District Judge Carl Nichols , who was appointed by President Donald Trump , pending further litigation .
Previously , unaccompanied children from Central America picked up by Border Patrol agents would be sent to the Office of Refugee Resettlement , where they would be housed in shelters across the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ asylum and waited to be reunited with family members in the US .
But those referrals have dipped since the issuance of the CDC order .
Instead , unaccompanied children at the border are turned back by DHS officials under the order .
The ORR referral process was created by the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act , which was signed by then-president George W. Bush in 2008 .
Under the law , US Customs and Border Protection officials are generally required to refer the children within 72 hours to the US refugee agency @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has been in CBP custody since June 4 , according to the ACLU lawsuit .
He fled the Central American country , attorneys said , after witnessing a murder and gang members later threatened him .
His father lives in the US .
Advocates said the use of the CDC order is “ extreme in seeking to eliminate statutory protections for vulnerable noncitizens and children .
And it is not only a ban on entry but provides for summary expulsion for those who entered the country .
”

A federal court judge on Wednesday blocked the deportation of a 16-year-old boy as part of the first legal challenge to a controversial Trump administration policy that has turned back thousands of immigrants at the southern border by citing the coronavirus pandemic.
The lawsuit was filed in Washington, DC, by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of a 16-year-old Honduran boy who fled to the US to seek protection from persecution in his home country. The teen, who was seeking to stop his imminent deportation, was the first to challenge an unprecedented policy that has all but shut down asylum at the southern border.
Administration officials have said they are following public health orders designed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in the US, but advocates like the ACLU argues the government is using the health orders as an excuse to violate federal laws that govern the processing of unaccompanied minors.
Department of Homeland Security officials have turned away thousands of immigrants at the southern border by using a March order issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that bars the entry of those who cross into the country without authorization.
Advocates said the judge’s decision could be significant moving forward.
“The court concluded that CDC and the Trump Administration likely lacked the authority to expel children and asylum-seekers under the public health laws,” said Lee Gelernt, an ACLU attorney leading the case. “If the administration were to get away with using the public health laws as a deportation mechanism, it would be historically unprecedented.”
The order was issued by US District Judge Carl Nichols, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, pending further litigation.
Previously, unaccompanied children from Central America picked up by Border Patrol agents would be sent to the Office of Refugee Resettlement, where they would be housed in shelters across the country as they began officially applying for asylum and waited to be reunited with family members in the US. But those referrals have dipped since the issuance of the CDC order. Instead, unaccompanied children at the border are turned back by DHS officials under the order.
The ORR referral process was created by the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, which was signed by then-president George W. Bush in 2008. Under the law, US Customs and Border Protection officials are generally required to refer the children within 72 hours to the US refugee agency.
The 16-year-old Honduran boy facing deportation has been in CBP custody since June 4, according to the ACLU lawsuit.
He fled the Central American country, attorneys said, after witnessing a murder and gang members later threatened him. His father lives in the US.
Advocates said the use of the CDC order is “extreme in seeking to eliminate statutory protections for vulnerable noncitizens and children. And it is not only a ban on entry but provides for summary expulsion for those who entered the country.”


buzzfeed--2020-06-24--A Black Progressive Beat A 16-Term Democrat In A Heated New York Congressional Primary

Jamaal Bowman , a former educator and middle school principal from the Bronx , declared victory Wednesday over Rep. Eliot Engel , a 16-term member of Congress who represents New York ’ s 16th congressional district .
The primary win is a galvanizing moment for national progressives , just two years after Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez , who backed Bowman , sparked a new wave of progressive organizing to push the Democratic Party further left .
And , like with Ocasio-Cortez ’ s success in 2018 , it is another win for a challenger who cast the incumbent as too out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I ’ m a Black man who was raised by a single mother in a housing project .
That story doesn ’ t usually end in Congress .
But today , that 11-year old boy who was beaten by police is about to be your next Representative , ” Bowman said in a statement Wednesday morning .
“ I can not wait to get to Washington and cause problems for the people maintaining the status quo.
” New York is still counting votes and may be for days , with a huge increase @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But Decision Desk HQ and others have found that Bowman 's lead over Engel is too great for the incumbent to make up .
Engel released a statement Wednesday afternoon saying he did not believe Bowman should declare victory before absentee ballots have been counted .
`` Any declarative statement on the outcome of this race right now is premature and undermines the democratic process , '' the statement said .
Bowman ’ s candidacy was propelled over the last month by national protests against police brutality and a surging Black Lives @ @ @ @ @ @ @ several Black candidates to have a strong result in Tuesday ’ s elections .
“ Tonight as we celebrate , we don ’ t just celebrate me as an individual , we celebrate this movement , ” Bowman said during a speech Tuesday night .
“ A movement designed to push back against a system that ’ s literally killing us .
It ’ s killing Black and brown bodies disproportionately , but it ’ s killing all of us.
” During his remarks , Bowman said he would only mention his opponent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I ’ ll say his name once , used to say he was a thorn in the side of Donald Trump .
But you know what Donald Trump is more afraid of than anything else ?
A Black man with power , ” he said .

Jamaal Bowman, a former educator and middle school principal from the Bronx, declared victory Wednesday over Rep. Eliot Engel, a 16-term member of Congress who represents New York’s 16th congressional district.
The primary win is a galvanizing moment for national progressives, just two years after Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who backed Bowman, sparked a new wave of progressive organizing to push the Democratic Party further left. And, like with Ocasio-Cortez’s success in 2018, it is another win for a challenger who cast the incumbent as too out of touch with their district.
“I’m a Black man who was raised by a single mother in a housing project. That story doesn’t usually end in Congress. But today, that 11-year old boy who was beaten by police is about to be your next Representative,” Bowman said in a statement Wednesday morning. “I cannot wait to get to Washington and cause problems for the people maintaining the status quo.”
New York is still counting votes and may be for days, with a huge increase in absentee voting during the coronavirus pandemic. But Decision Desk HQ and others have found that Bowman's lead over Engel is too great for the incumbent to make up.
Engel released a statement Wednesday afternoon saying he did not believe Bowman should declare victory before absentee ballots have been counted. "Any declarative statement on the outcome of this race right now is premature and undermines the democratic process," the statement said.
Bowman’s candidacy was propelled over the last month by national protests against police brutality and a surging Black Lives Matter movement. He was one of several Black candidates to have a strong result in Tuesday’s elections.
“Tonight as we celebrate, we don’t just celebrate me as an individual, we celebrate this movement,” Bowman said during a speech Tuesday night. “A movement designed to push back against a system that’s literally killing us. It’s killing Black and brown bodies disproportionately, but it’s killing all of us.”
During his remarks, Bowman said he would only mention his opponent once.
“Eliot Engel, and I’ll say his name once, used to say he was a thorn in the side of Donald Trump. But you know what Donald Trump is more afraid of than anything else? A Black man with power,” he said.


buzzfeed--2020-06-25--The Courts Say Sex Discrimination Laws Protect Trans People, But Trump May Use Religious Exemptions

The Courts Say Sex Discrimination Laws Protect Trans People, But Trump May Use Religious Exemptions To Get Around Them

The Supreme Court gave LGBTQ activists a historic victory this month in the employment case of Bostock v. Clayton County , but it also may have set up the next major legal battle between civil rights and religious freedom .
The court decision came just days after the Trump administration determined that doctors , hospitals , insurers , and other health providers could deny services to trans people .
That move came when the Department of Health and Human Services defined the Affordable Care Act ’ s ban on discrimination on the basis of sex to not include gender identity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In Bostock , the Supreme Court ruled the exact opposite — that sex discrimination includes gender identity — in the most sweeping decision to protect LGBTQ people in the court ’ s history .
But it ’ s what is not included in the decision — the question of how broadly the Trump administration can extend religious exemptions to cut away at antidiscrimination laws — that lawyers expect to be the next major battlefield in LGBTQ rights .
The Trump administration could essentially say that even if refusing service to a trans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ health providers could be protected if providing a service violates their religious beliefs .
“ The real battleground here is going to be religious freedom attempts , ” said Kristen Prata Browde , who sits on the board of the National Trans Bar Association .
“ People are going to be using religious exemptions as a way ( to get around discrimination ) .
” On Monday morning , a coalition of legal groups and health clinics including sued the Trump administration in the US District Court for the District of Columbia to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 , known as RFRA , allows for exemptions to antidiscrimination laws .
It prohibits the federal government from substantially burdening a person ’ s exercise of religion unless it furthers a compelling government interest and is the least restrictive way of doing so .
The Supreme Court nodded at this question but did not resolve it .
The Bostock opinion , authored by Neil Gorsuch , said only that RFRA “ might ” be able to be used to carve out religious exemptions .
“ Because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ statute , displacing the normal operation of other federal laws , it might supersede Title VII ’ s commands in appropriate cases , ” the opinion said .
Omar Gonzalez-Pagan of Lambda Legal said the Bostock decision will be a huge help to his group and others in legal cases to extend LGBTQ rights across the country because courts look to similar statutes when it comes to questions of interpretation .
Lambda is one of the groups suing over the ACA rule change .
Gonzalez-Pagan described Trump ’ s healthcare rule change as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He said he now expects the administration to react by pushing for sex descrimination exemptions on religious grounds .
“ It ’ s certainly something that they will attempt , ” he said .
“ They will now try to limit it , to carve it out as much as possible .
”

The Supreme Court gave LGBTQ activists a historic victory this month in the employment case of Bostock v. Clayton County, but it also may have set up the next major legal battle between civil rights and religious freedom.
The court decision came just days after the Trump administration determined that doctors, hospitals, insurers, and other health providers could deny services to trans people. That move came when the Department of Health and Human Services defined the Affordable Care Act’s ban on discrimination on the basis of sex to not include gender identity, meaning trans people are not protected.
In Bostock, the Supreme Court ruled the exact opposite — that sex discrimination includes gender identity — in the most sweeping decision to protect LGBTQ people in the court’s history.
But it’s what is not included in the decision — the question of how broadly the Trump administration can extend religious exemptions to cut away at antidiscrimination laws — that lawyers expect to be the next major battlefield in LGBTQ rights.
The Trump administration could essentially say that even if refusing service to a trans person is sex discrimination, businesses or health providers could be protected if providing a service violates their religious beliefs.
“The real battleground here is going to be religious freedom attempts,” said Kristen Prata Browde, who sits on the board of the National Trans Bar Association. “People are going to be using religious exemptions as a way (to get around discrimination).”
On Monday morning, a coalition of legal groups and health clinics sued the Trump administration in the US District Court for the District of Columbia to reverse the sex discrimination rule change.
The Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, known as RFRA, allows for exemptions to antidiscrimination laws. It prohibits the federal government from substantially burdening a person’s exercise of religion unless it furthers a compelling government interest and is the least restrictive way of doing so.
The Supreme Court nodded at this question but did not resolve it. The Bostock opinion, authored by Neil Gorsuch, said only that RFRA “might” be able to be used to carve out religious exemptions. “Because RFRA operates as a kind of super statute, displacing the normal operation of other federal laws, it might supersede Title VII’s commands in appropriate cases,” the opinion said.
Omar Gonzalez-Pagan of Lambda Legal said the Bostock decision will be a huge help to his group and others in legal cases to extend LGBTQ rights across the country because courts look to similar statutes when it comes to questions of interpretation. Lambda is one of the groups suing over the ACA rule change.
Gonzalez-Pagan described Trump’s healthcare rule change as “eviscerated” by the decision. He said he now expects the administration to react by pushing for sex descrimination exemptions on religious grounds.
“It’s certainly something that they will attempt,” he said. “They will now try to limit it, to carve it out as much as possible.”


buzzfeed--2020-06-24--The DC Circuit Is Forcing A Judge To Dismiss The Criminal Case Against Trump's Ally Michael Flynn

WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court will force a judge to dismiss the criminal case against President Donald Trump 's former national security adviser Michael Flynn .
The 2–1 decision on Wednesday from the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit is a decisive win for Flynn .
He pleaded guilty to one count of lying to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian government shortly before President Donald Trump took office in 2017 , but he then changed course to fight the prosecution with the president 's support .
Judge Neomi Rao , who authored the majority @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Emmet Sullivan 's decision to ask for briefing and schedule a hearing to probe the government 's decision to drop Flynn 's case would undermine the executive branch 's `` exclusive prosecutorial power . ''
Rao is one of Trump 's two appointees to the DC Circuit ; Trump has made the appointment of conservative judges a central part of his political agenda during his first term .
Rao wrote that Flynn 's case `` is about whether , after the government has explained why a prosecution is no longer in the public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the prosecution by appointing an amicus , encouraging public participation , and probing the government ’ s motives .
On that , both the Constitution and cases are clear : he may not . ''
Judge Robert Wilkins dissented , writing , `` It is a great irony that , in finding the District Court to have exceeded its jurisdiction , this Court so grievously oversteps its own . ''
Federal court rules state that prosecutors have to seek `` leave of court '' to dismiss a criminal case .
Wilkins wrote that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rule into `` a dead letter '' by cutting off any review by a judge .
Noting that the government had actively pursued and defended its criminal case against Flynn until recently , Wilkins wrote that the request to drop the prosecution now was `` no mere about-face ; it is more akin to turning around an aircraft carrier . ''
Sullivan 's lawyer Beth Wilkinson declined to comment .
Normally , the losing side can petition the full appeals court to review a decision , known as en banc review .
Given @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — it 's extremely rare for a sitting judge to be directly involved in defending his actions before an appeals court — it was n't immediately clear if Sullivan could , or would , do that .
The judges of the court could also decide on their own to take a vote on whether to reconsider the three-judge panel 's decision , according to the DC Circuit 's rules .
Federal prosecutors — first through former special counsel Robert Mueller 's office , and later through the US attorney 's office in Washington @ @ @ @ @ @ @ case against Flynn for more than two years .
Flynn pleaded guilty to lying about his contacts with then–Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the transition period after the 2016 election ; he also pleaded guilty to lying about whether he had asked the Russian government to take certain actions in response to US foreign policy decisions at the time .
Flynn agreed to cooperate with the government early on , but after changing his legal team in 2019 , he not only moved to withdraw his plea but also launched a full-out attack @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It was a strategy that aligned with Trump 's criticism of Mueller and the broader investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election .
Trump made clear that he supported Flynn 's efforts , leaving open whether he 'd grant him clemency if he lost in court .
In May , the Justice Department notified the court that it wished to drop the prosecution altogether , citing new evidence uncovered during a review of Flynn 's case ordered by Attorney General Bill Barr .
The Justice Department argued that the new evidence — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ officials who interviewed Flynn in January 2017 about his contacts with Kislyak — showed the interview was `` untethered '' to a counterintelligence probe into Flynn that the FBI was preparing to close at the time .
When Sullivan refused to immediately grant the government 's request and dismiss the case , instead inviting briefing and scheduling a hearing , Flynn petitioned the DC Circuit to step in .
Sullivan had scheduled a hearing for July 16 .
Since the government and Flynn were now on the same side , the judge appointed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , to submit arguments opposing dismissal for the judge to consider .
Flynn 's lawyer Sidney Powell and a spokesperson for the Justice Department did not immediately return requests for comment .
`` WIN in General Flynn 's case , '' DOJ spokesperson Kerri Kupec tweeted with four American flag emojis .

WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court will force a judge to dismiss the criminal case against President Donald Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
The 2–1 decision on Wednesday from the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit is a decisive win for Flynn. He pleaded guilty to one count of lying to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian government shortly before President Donald Trump took office in 2017, but he then changed course to fight the prosecution with the president's support.
Judge Neomi Rao, who authored the majority opinion, wrote that US District Judge Emmet Sullivan's decision to ask for briefing and schedule a hearing to probe the government's decision to drop Flynn's case would undermine the executive branch's "exclusive prosecutorial power." Rao is one of Trump's two appointees to the DC Circuit; Trump has made the appointment of conservative judges a central part of his political agenda during his first term.
Rao wrote that Flynn's case "is about whether, after the government has explained why a prosecution is no longer in the public interest, the district judge may prolong the prosecution by appointing an amicus, encouraging public participation, and probing the government’s motives. On that, both the Constitution and cases are clear: he may not."
Judge Robert Wilkins dissented, writing, "It is a great irony that, in finding the District Court to have exceeded its jurisdiction, this Court so grievously oversteps its own."
Federal court rules state that prosecutors have to seek "leave of court" to dismiss a criminal case. Wilkins wrote that the majority's decision would turn that rule into "a dead letter" by cutting off any review by a judge. Noting that the government had actively pursued and defended its criminal case against Flynn until recently, Wilkins wrote that the request to drop the prosecution now was "no mere about-face; it is more akin to turning around an aircraft carrier."
Sullivan's lawyer Beth Wilkinson declined to comment. Normally, the losing side can petition the full appeals court to review a decision, known as en banc review. Given the unusual nature of Flynn's case — it's extremely rare for a sitting judge to be directly involved in defending his actions before an appeals court — it wasn't immediately clear if Sullivan could, or would, do that.
The judges of the court could also decide on their own to take a vote on whether to reconsider the three-judge panel's decision, according to the DC Circuit's rules.
Federal prosecutors — first through former special counsel Robert Mueller's office, and later through the US attorney's office in Washington, DC — had pursued the criminal case against Flynn for more than two years. Flynn pleaded guilty to lying about his contacts with then–Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the transition period after the 2016 election; he also pleaded guilty to lying about whether he had asked the Russian government to take certain actions in response to US foreign policy decisions at the time.
Flynn agreed to cooperate with the government early on, but after changing his legal team in 2019, he not only moved to withdraw his plea but also launched a full-out attack on the legitimacy of the prosecution. It was a strategy that aligned with Trump's criticism of Mueller and the broader investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Trump made clear that he supported Flynn's efforts, leaving open whether he'd grant him clemency if he lost in court.
In May, the Justice Department notified the court that it wished to drop the prosecution altogether, citing new evidence uncovered during a review of Flynn's case ordered by Attorney General Bill Barr. The Justice Department argued that the new evidence — which included notes taken by senior FBI officials who interviewed Flynn in January 2017 about his contacts with Kislyak — showed the interview was "untethered" to a counterintelligence probe into Flynn that the FBI was preparing to close at the time.
When Sullivan refused to immediately grant the government's request and dismiss the case, instead inviting briefing and scheduling a hearing, Flynn petitioned the DC Circuit to step in. Sullivan had scheduled a hearing for July 16. Since the government and Flynn were now on the same side, the judge appointed John Gleeson, a former federal judge, to submit arguments opposing dismissal for the judge to consider.
Flynn's lawyer Sidney Powell and a spokesperson for the Justice Department did not immediately return requests for comment. "WIN in General Flynn's case," DOJ spokesperson Kerri Kupec tweeted with four American flag emojis.


buzzfeed--2020-06-24--How Diverse Is Joe Biden’s 2020 Staff? His Campaign Won’t Say.

“ Look at my staff , ” Joe Biden said back in December .
The subject of diversity had come up in an NPR interview : Only white candidates had qualified for the next Democratic debate , one of the last before the start of the primary , and the reporter asked if Biden would commit to selecting a person of color as his running mate .
Aboard his campaign bus in Iowa , the 77-year-old candidate looked equal parts frustrated by the question and confident in his answer .
“ I have the most diverse staff of anybody running @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Biden ’ s campaign refused to give any detail about the claim after he made it .
And more than six months later , he has yet to back up the assertion or provide any data on the diversity of his campaign staff — marking a significant break during a national reckoning over racism and issues of inclusion and equity with the standard of transparency set by Democratic candidates during the last presidential election .
Biden ’ s presidential campaign , staffed at the top by a predominantly white team of advisers , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of people of color on payroll or detail the way in which they track diversity data internally .
In response to questions from BuzzFeed News about hiring and inclusion practices , the Biden campaign pointed to the creation of a diversity and culture committee and its employment of a chief people , diversity , and inclusion officer .
Michael Leach , a former NFL labor relations official serving in that role , has worked for Biden for a year , but the campaign did not externally announce his job prior to the publication @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not explain why they have yet to share diversity numbers publicly but indicated they expect to do so soon .
Jamal Brown , the Biden campaign ’ s national press secretary , said in an emailed statement that the campaign “ reflects the diversity , breadth and promise of America ” and that it has “ placed a premium on fostering an inclusive culture and workforce representative of all backgrounds , beliefs , and socioeconomic groups.
” During the last presidential election , Democratic candidates released data about their staff diversity on a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ organizing effort by Inclusv , a group founded in 2015 to promote racial diversity in national politics and develop a talent pipeline for people of color .
The organization successfully pushed Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders to self-report their private diversity data , and offered campaigns its own bank of résumés , establishing Inclusv as both a public point of pressure and a private resource for Democratic campaigns and party committees .
Alida Garcia , founder of Inclusv , said she is in an “ ongoing dialogue ” with the Biden campaign about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hires for the general election but has also so far seen her requests for internal data go unanswered .
“ We have asked them a couple times to make their staff diversity data public .
We have not received a commitment that they intend to share , but it 's our hope that when this current hiring sprint is over they will do that , ” she said , referring to Biden ’ s efforts to build a staff in swing states ahead of the general election .
“ There is a body @ @ @ @ @ @ @ make it clear that this is now an industry norm , ” Garcia said of the diversity data Democratic campaigns released four years ago .
“ Anything otherwise would be them walking it back.
” Biden ’ s outreach with Inclusv is limited compared to Clinton ’ s in 2016 .
Garcia and the other founders of Inclusv met with senior members of Clinton ’ s team before the launch of her campaign , bringing with them hundreds of résumés , she recalled .
Inclusv has met with the Biden campaign — but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ A summary of data from the end of Clinton ’ s 2016 run shows the number of people on staff who identified as racially and ethnically diverse comprised more than 38 % of the campaign and more than 34 % of leadership , according to a former Clinton official .
The same data summary shows that more than 54 % of Clinton ’ s staffers identified as women .
By some measures , any point of comparison with Clinton ’ s 2016 campaign puts Biden at an inherent disadvantage : Where he faced @ @ @ @ @ @ @ starting out with a small staff in his Philadelphia headquarters and up against more than a dozen opponents in the primary , Clinton had been planning an all-but-certain general election campaign years in advance .
By the end of 2016 , according to Nathaniel Koloc , Clinton ’ s director of talent acquisition and development , the campaign had hired about 4,500 people in its headquarters and across the country with an emphasis on diversity among senior staff members from the start of her presidential bid .
“ To me , the fact @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Clinton on our numbers and our systems does n't take into account the fact that their campaign doesn ’ t look the same way ours did in terms of the resources , ” Koloc said .
“ That is not to say that they shouldn ’ t value diversity.
” Koloc said he helped track Clinton ’ s staff diversity alongside Bernard Coleman III , the campaign ’ s chief diversity and human resources officer .
( Coleman could not be reached for an interview for this article . )
In their 19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Coleman helped develop a custom-configured software to act as a massive private résumé database , bringing in new talent from the campaign website or radio ads they would run in the states to hire organizers .
Koloc recalled an effort to recruit people of color to departments where the barrier to entry has historically been high , such as data and analytics .

“Look at my staff,” Joe Biden said back in December.
The subject of diversity had come up in an NPR interview: Only white candidates had qualified for the next Democratic debate, one of the last before the start of the primary, and the reporter asked if Biden would commit to selecting a person of color as his running mate. Aboard his campaign bus in Iowa, the 77-year-old candidate looked equal parts frustrated by the question and confident in his answer.
“I have the most diverse staff of anybody running. I've always done that.”
Biden’s campaign refused to give any detail about the claim after he made it. And more than six months later, he has yet to back up the assertion or provide any data on the diversity of his campaign staff — marking a significant break during a national reckoning over racism and issues of inclusion and equity with the standard of transparency set by Democratic candidates during the last presidential election.
Biden’s presidential campaign, staffed at the top by a predominantly white team of advisers, declined this week to disclose the number of people of color on payroll or detail the way in which they track diversity data internally. In response to questions from BuzzFeed News about hiring and inclusion practices, the Biden campaign pointed to the creation of a diversity and culture committee and its employment of a chief people, diversity, and inclusion officer. Michael Leach, a former NFL labor relations official serving in that role, has worked for Biden for a year, but the campaign did not externally announce his job prior to the publication of this story.
Campaign officials did not explain why they have yet to share diversity numbers publicly but indicated they expect to do so soon.
Jamal Brown, the Biden campaign’s national press secretary, said in an emailed statement that the campaign “reflects the diversity, breadth and promise of America” and that it has “placed a premium on fostering an inclusive culture and workforce representative of all backgrounds, beliefs, and socioeconomic groups.”
During the last presidential election, Democratic candidates released data about their staff diversity on a quarterly basis as a result of an organizing effort by Inclusv, a group founded in 2015 to promote racial diversity in national politics and develop a talent pipeline for people of color. The organization successfully pushed Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders to self-report their private diversity data, and offered campaigns its own bank of résumés, establishing Inclusv as both a public point of pressure and a private resource for Democratic campaigns and party committees.
Alida Garcia, founder of Inclusv, said she is in an “ongoing dialogue” with the Biden campaign about the measures it should consider as it hires for the general election but has also so far seen her requests for internal data go unanswered.
“We have asked them a couple times to make their staff diversity data public. We have not received a commitment that they intend to share, but it's our hope that when this current hiring sprint is over they will do that,” she said, referring to Biden’s efforts to build a staff in swing states ahead of the general election.
“There is a body of work at this point that should make it clear that this is now an industry norm,” Garcia said of the diversity data Democratic campaigns released four years ago. “Anything otherwise would be them walking it back.”
Biden’s outreach with Inclusv is limited compared to Clinton’s in 2016. Garcia and the other founders of Inclusv met with senior members of Clinton’s team before the launch of her campaign, bringing with them hundreds of résumés, she recalled. Inclusv has met with the Biden campaign — but with so far more limited results.
A summary of data from the end of Clinton’s 2016 run shows the number of people on staff who identified as racially and ethnically diverse comprised more than 38% of the campaign and more than 34% of leadership, according to a former Clinton official. The same data summary shows that more than 54% of Clinton’s staffers identified as women.
By some measures, any point of comparison with Clinton’s 2016 campaign puts Biden at an inherent disadvantage: Where he faced an uncertain path to the nomination, starting out with a small staff in his Philadelphia headquarters and up against more than a dozen opponents in the primary, Clinton had been planning an all-but-certain general election campaign years in advance.
By the end of 2016, according to Nathaniel Koloc, Clinton’s director of talent acquisition and development, the campaign had hired about 4,500 people in its headquarters and across the country with an emphasis on diversity among senior staff members from the start of her presidential bid.
“To me, the fact that they haven’t publicly beaten Clinton on our numbers and our systems doesn't take into account the fact that their campaign doesn’t look the same way ours did in terms of the resources,” Koloc said. “That is not to say that they shouldn’t value diversity.”
Koloc said he helped track Clinton’s staff diversity alongside Bernard Coleman III, the campaign’s chief diversity and human resources officer. (Coleman could not be reached for an interview for this article.) In their 19 months on the campaign, Koloc and Coleman helped develop a custom-configured software to act as a massive private résumé database, bringing in new talent from the campaign website or radio ads they would run in the states to hire organizers. Koloc recalled an effort to recruit people of color to departments where the barrier to entry has historically been high, such as data and analytics.


buzzfeed--2020-06-25--17 Delightfully Weird Things Babies Do That Make Exactly 0% Sense

Why do babies get to sleep on the floor with no pillows and still look like they ’ re having @ @ @ @ @ lives but when I do it I die .

Why do babies get to sleep on the floor with no pillows and still look like they’re having the best sleep of their lives but when I do it I die.


buzzfeed--2020-06-25--Miley Cyrus Revealed She Quit Drugs Six Months Ago And Opened Up About The "Stigma" Of Being Young A

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

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

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


buzzfeed--2020-06-25--Some People Just Learned Washing Machines Have Filters You Need To Clean, So They Are Doing It For T

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

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

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


buzzfeed--2020-06-25--A Black Progressive Beat A 16-Term Democrat In A Heated New York Congressional Primary


buzzfeed--2020-06-26--Someone Edited Clips Of People Freaking Out About Face Masks Into A "Parks And Rec" Town Hall Meetin

Someone Edited Clips Of People Freaking Out About Face Masks Into A "Parks And Rec" Town Hall Meeting And It's Perfect

`` It was kind of painful to listen through these people complaining about having to wear a mask , but @ @ @ @ @ the end , '' Law added .
`` Mostly , I ’ m just happy @ @ @ @ @ of it and we ’ re able to laugh during a pretty dark time in @ @ @ @ @ . ''

Well, as you've probably seen on the news, there have been lots of REAL town hall meetings happening recently, in which people have thrown massive tantrums about having to wear face masks in public — and spread lots of (incorrect) conspiracy theories about COVID-19 being a hoax.


buzzfeed--2020-06-25--21 Balanced Lunch Ideas With A Ton Of Protein And No Meat

Hummus is a vegetarian-fave for a reason .
This veggie-filled sandwich has 19 grams of protein and a whole lot @ @ @ @ @ recipe : The Ultimate Hummus and Veggie Sandwich

Being vegetarian isn't nearly as challenging as some think, but we *do* have to be mindful that we're getting enough protein. 🌱
From lentils and soba noodles to beans and eggs, there are so many delicious meat-free protein sources that can form the base of a satisfying meal. To help you get all the protein you need, below are several vegetarian lunch recipes that have at least 15 grams of protein each.


buzzfeed--2020-06-25--At Least 18 Members Of One Family Have The Coronavirus After A Surprise Birthday Party

BuzzFeed News has reporters around the world bringing you trustworthy stories about the impact of the coronavirus .
To help keep this news free , become a member .
`` Everybody says , 'Oh , it 's my family .
I 'm going to go see my brother .
I ’ m going to see my cousin , ' and they think that ’ s a safe word , '' Barbosa told BuzzFeed News .
Three have become so ill that they have been hospitalized : Barbosa 's 88-year-old dad , his 86-year-old mom , and his sister , who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But after family members went golfing and threw a surprise birthday dinner party for one of Barbosa 's family members last month , at least 18 members of the extended family have become sick with COVID-19 .
Ron Barbosa 's family has always been close .
Members of the Dallas-area family see each other practically every day , and when the coronavirus pandemic struck , many of them thought it would be OK to continue spending time together .
While they are n't certain if the virus started spreading among the family @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , 53 , who did not attend the gathering , said that based on the time they started to see symptoms , it seems like the initial transmission among family members happened that weekend .
`` It ’ s a big loving family that gets together all the time and they have dinner and this just happened to be a surprise birthday dinner , '' Barbosa said .
He said he believes his nephew , who hosted the party with his wife , was first exposed to the disease at work and that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the gathering .
Earlier in the day , some of the men in the family went golfing together , and now Barbosa thinks it 's possible they were exposed then .
`` Next thing you know , the two nephews that basically live next door to him , they get the same cough and diarrhea , body aches , and they start getting sick , '' Barbosa said .
`` By the 6th [ of June ] , there was a lot of symptoms .
And by the 9th , people are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by the 13th , [ my family ] had to take my sister and my mom to the hospital . ''
The rapid spread of the coronavirus among the family comes as cases explode in Texas , prompting officials there to scramble to bring things under control .
As of Thursday , the state has recorded nearly 73,000 cases of COVID-19 and more than 2,200 deaths .
Due to recent increases in case numbers and hospitalizations , Gov .
Greg Abbott said on Thursday the state will pause any further reopening .
`` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as a state is go backwards and close down businesses , '' Abbott said in a statement .
`` This temporary pause will help our state corral the spread until we can safely enter the next phase of opening our state for business . ''
Public health experts have advised people to avoid any close contact with those outside of their immediate household , wear face coverings , and keep a safe distance from others when they leave home to protect those who are at higher risk of severe illness .
Barbosa , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , said he and his wife , a doctor , have not been spending much time with family outside of their own household and that they wear masks and keep their distance when they do see them .
But he knows not everyone in his family has been doing the same .
`` The kids feel like they ’ re bulletproof , '' he said .
`` [ They say ] , 'We ’ re safe .
We ’ re going to keep living .
We ’ re going to take trips , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We 're blasting off ! '
''

While they aren't certain if the virus started spreading among the family at the May 30 party, Barbosa, 53, who did not attend the gathering, said that based on the time they started to see symptoms, it seems like the initial transmission among family members happened that weekend.
"It’s a big loving family that gets together all the time and they have dinner and this just happened to be a surprise birthday dinner," Barbosa said.
He said he believes his nephew, who hosted the party with his wife, was first exposed to the disease at work and that he had a cough on the day of the gathering. Earlier in the day, some of the men in the family went golfing together, and now Barbosa thinks it's possible they were exposed then.
"Next thing you know, the two nephews that basically live next door to him, they get the same cough and diarrhea, body aches, and they start getting sick," Barbosa said. "By the 6th [of June], there was a lot of symptoms. And by the 9th, people are getting really, really bad. And by the 13th, [my family] had to take my sister and my mom to the hospital."
The rapid spread of the coronavirus among the family comes as cases explode in Texas, prompting officials there to scramble to bring things under control. As of Thursday, the state has recorded more than 130,000 cases of COVID-19 and more than 2,200 deaths.
Due to recent increases in case numbers and hospitalizations, Gov. Greg Abbott said on Thursday the state will pause any further reopening. "The last thing we want to do as a state is go backwards and close down businesses," Abbott said in a statement. "This temporary pause will help our state corral the spread until we can safely enter the next phase of opening our state for business."
Public health experts have advised people to avoid any close contact with those outside of their immediate household, wear face coverings, and keep a safe distance from others when they leave home to protect those who are at higher risk of severe illness.
Barbosa, who is a volunteer EMT and photographer, said he and his wife, a doctor, have not been spending much time with family outside of their own household and that they wear masks and keep their distance when they do see them. But he knows not everyone in his family has been doing the same.
"The kids feel like they’re bulletproof," he said. "[They say], 'We’re safe. We’re going to keep living. We’re going to take trips, even. The airfares are down. We're blasting off!'"


buzzfeed--2020-06-25--21 Frozen Dinners That Actually Aren't Terrible For You

If you 've been non-stop cooking since quarantine started , it makes sense you 'd want a break already ( @ @ @ @ @ , then from DISHES . )
And if you 're looking to stock up on @ @ @ @ @ get you through the week , you 'll find a ton of starter ideas below @ @ @ @ @ : • Keep the focus on most ( or all ) whole foods .
The @ @ @ @ @ you ca n't pronounce — the better .
• Opt for little-to-no added sugar , @ @ @ @ @ of sodium .

If you've been non-stop cooking since quarantine started , it makes sense you'd want a break already (if not from meal prep, then from DISHES.)
And if you're looking to stock up on some frozen meals to help get you through the week, you'll find a ton of starter ideas below. All of these meals:
• Keep the focus on most (or all) whole foods. The fewer ingredients listed —especially ones you can't pronounce — the better.
• Opt for little-to-no added sugar, and less than 800 mg of sodium.