buzzfeed--2020-05-02--Democrats Will Have To Answer Questions About Tara Reade. The Biden Campaign Is Advising Them To Say

Democrats Will Have To Answer Questions About Tara Reade. The Biden Campaign Is Advising Them To Say Her Story “Did Not Happen.”

While Joe Biden has remained publicly silent about a sexual assault allegation made against him , his presidential campaign has sought to coordinate and unify Democratic messaging on the matter , advising surrogates earlier this month to say that the allegation “ did not happen.
” The Biden campaign circulated talking points among top Democratic supporters shortly after the New York Times published a story earlier this month about the allegation by Tara Reade , a former staff assistant in Biden ’ s Senate office who says he assaulted her in 1993 .
With good news and bad , talking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In substance , the private guidance largely hews to the sole public statement on the matter from Biden ’ s deputy campaign manager , Kate Bedingfield .
But the messaging shows that while Biden has stayed quiet on the allegations on the eve of his nomination , aides were taking the claims seriously enough behind the scenes to coordinate messaging among other Democrats to try to cast the matter as one that ’ s been thoroughly vetted and determined to be unfounded .
“ Biden believes that all women have the right @ @ @ @ @ @ @ claims thoroughly reviewed , ” the talking points read , according to a copy sent to two Democratic operatives .
“ In this case , a thorough review by the New York Times has led to the truth : this incident did not happen.
” “ Here ’ s the bottom line , ” they read .
“ Vice President Joe Biden has spent over 40 years in public life : 36 years in the Senate ; 7 Senate campaigns , 2 previous presidential runs , two vice presidential campaigns , and 8 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has never been a complaint , allegation , hint or rumor of any impropriety or inappropriate conduct like this regarding him — ever.
” Democrats are in an increasingly precarious position as reporters assess Reade ’ s allegation .
By any measure of the # MeToo movement that has seen the Democratic Party embrace “ believe women ” as a mantra , Reade , 56 , has provided a serious account , disputed by Biden ’ s campaign and former senior staffers who worked in his office in 1993 but corroborated in part @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the 1990s .
This week , after Reade said her late mother had called Larry King Live about the incident , the Intercept published a transcript showing she called in to ask for advice about her daughter ’ s negative experience with a “ prominent senator.
” Since news outlets began to investigate her claims , Biden has participated in more than a dozen television interviews and virtual fundraisers but has not addressed Reade ’ s allegation himself .
The guidance to top Democrats casts Biden as a lifelong “ fierce advocate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unequivocally untrue , leaning heavily on the April 12 report by the New York Times outlining the allegations by Reade .
Biden ’ s campaign ’ s talking points say the Times story served as proof that Reade ’ s allegation “ did not happen ” — but the story did not conclude this , nor did it conclude that an assault definitively did happen .
The Times reported that three former Senate aides , all of whom Reade said she complained to at the time , either did not remember the incident @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The Times also spoke to former interns who said they did remember Reade suddenly ceasing to oversee them , aligning with Reade ’ s claim that she was pulled from that duty .
Reade has said that Biden digitally penetrated her in a Senate hallway and told her , “ You ’ re nothing to me.
” In multiple interviews with several outlets , Reade has said she complained to others in Biden ’ s office , filed a report at the time to a Senate personnel office , and said she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stood by her recollections in interviews with BuzzFeed News this month .
“ All four of the people Mrs. Reade says were notified of an official complaint told the New York Times on the record that they have absolutely no recollection of any such conversation , ” the Biden campaign told Democrats , echoing testimonials from former staffers who have painted the claims as “ so wildly out of character for Joe Biden.
” The Biden campaign also pointed to the former vice president ’ s lead role in crafting the Violence Against @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that significantly increased funding for the prosecution of violent crimes against women .
In a livestreamed event with Hillary Clinton on Tuesday , billed as a “ Women ’ s Town Hall , ” the Biden campaign began a Q & A session with a question from a voter about women stuck in abusive relationships , now stuck at home in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic .
“ Violence against women is a huge problem , and especially right now , ” Biden said , calling domestic violence prevention “ one of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Last year , when other women came forward to say Biden touched them in a way that was uncomfortable , Reade told the Union , a California newspaper , that while she worked for Biden , the then-senator touched her neck and shoulders .
She also told the paper that Biden wanted her to serve drinks at one of his events because he liked her legs .
When she refused , she said , her responsibilities were reduced .
Reade first publicly described her recollection of the 1993 assault earlier this year .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the mainstream media when Reade went on the podcast of Katie Halper , a left-wing commentator , in late March , and described the more serious allegation of sexual assault .
The Intercept reported in March that the Time 's Up initiative declined to fund her allegation when she approached the group earlier this year ; the Intercept also recently reported that Reade ’ s mother made the call to Larry King Live in 1993 .
The fact that Reade ’ s story first gained traction in the left-wing independent media led some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ plot by disgruntled Bernie Sanders supporters to hurt Biden .
But the story has gone mainstream , being covered in outlets like the New York Times and the Washington Post , both of which gave a serious assessment of Reade ’ s claim .
Business Insider reporter Rich McHugh , an investigative journalist who served as a producer on Ronan Farrow ’ s Harvey Weinstein reporting at NBC News , has identified more people who have corroborated elements of Reade ’ s claim .
Those people include a former neighbor of Reade ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ allegation at the time and a former colleague who said Reade had told her about more general harassment .
In an interview with BuzzFeed News on Tuesday , Reade said she “ would like to know what [ Biden and his campaign ] think about the reporting of Rich McHugh , who was formerly reporting on the Weinstein case and is a well-renowned investigative reporter .
What is their comment on the Business Insider articles that did a deep dive investigation into what I ’ ve asserted that resulted in multiple corroborations on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sexual harassment and sexual assault by Joe Biden ?
” The two Democratic operatives who received the talking points earlier this month following the publication of the New York Times report said they had yet to receive further guidance from the Biden campaign .
Reached for comment on Tuesday night , the Biden campaign pointed to the statement issued by Bedingfield , the deputy campaign manager , dated April 13 : “ Vice President Biden has dedicated his public life to changing the culture and the laws around violence against women .
He @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reauthorization of the landmark Violence Against Women Act .
He firmly believes that women have a right to be heard — and heard respectfully .
Such claims should also be diligently reviewed by an independent press .
What is clear about this claim : it is untrue .
This absolutely did not happen . ''
In line with the guidance from Biden ’ s campaign , Democrats who have been asked about the story in recent weeks have pointed to the New York Times report and other stories , including in the Washington @ @ @ @ @ @ @ denials by the three former Senate aides : two top staffers , Dennis Toner and Ted Kaufman , as well as Biden ’ s executive assistant from 1982 to 2000 , Marianne Baker .
`` I think this case has been investigated , ” Sen. Amy Klobuchar said in an MSNBC interview earlier this month , pointing to the New York Times article a few days after its publication .
Klobuchar , a Minnesota Democrat , dropped out of the presidential race to endorse Biden in March .
Before the pandemic shut down @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his most active supporters , holding rallies for his campaign as he sought to defeat Sanders in the primary .
“ I know the vice president as a major leader on domestic abuse .
I worked with him on that .
And I think that , again , the viewers should read the article .
It was very thorough.
” Other Democrats have defended Biden as a trusted advocate for women , particularly in a race against President Donald Trump , who has been accused of more than a dozen acts of sexual @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Harris said in a recent podcast interview that Reade “ has a right to tell her story ” and that she could “ only speak to the Joe Biden I know .
He ’ s been a lifelong fighter , in terms of stopping violence against women.
” “ Vice President Biden has a strong record for fighting for women in his life , ” said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand , a fierce # MeToo advocate , in a radio interview earlier this month .
“ We are right now at the investigation stage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ obtained by BuzzFeed News are printed below :

While Joe Biden has remained publicly silent about a sexual assault allegation made against him, his presidential campaign has sought to coordinate and unify Democratic messaging on the matter, advising surrogates earlier this month to say that the allegation “did not happen.”
The Biden campaign circulated talking points among top Democratic supporters shortly after the New York Times published a story earlier this month about the allegation by Tara Reade, a former staff assistant in Biden’s Senate office who says he assaulted her in 1993.
With good news and bad, talking points are standard fare on presidential campaigns. In substance, the private guidance largely hews to the sole public statement on the matter from Biden’s deputy campaign manager, Kate Bedingfield.
But the messaging shows that while Biden has stayed quiet on the allegations on the eve of his nomination, aides were taking the claims seriously enough behind the scenes to coordinate messaging among other Democrats to try to cast the matter as one that’s been thoroughly vetted and determined to be unfounded.
“Biden believes that all women have the right to be heard and to have their claims thoroughly reviewed,” the talking points read, according to a copy sent to two Democratic operatives. “In this case, a thorough review by the New York Times has led to the truth: this incident did not happen.”
“Here’s the bottom line,” they read. “Vice President Joe Biden has spent over 40 years in public life: 36 years in the Senate; 7 Senate campaigns, 2 previous presidential runs, two vice presidential campaigns, and 8 years in the White House. There has never been a complaint, allegation, hint or rumor of any impropriety or inappropriate conduct like this regarding him — ever.”
Democrats are in an increasingly precarious position as reporters assess Reade’s allegation. By any measure of the #MeToo movement that has seen the Democratic Party embrace “believe women” as a mantra, Reade, 56, has provided a serious account, disputed by Biden’s campaign and former senior staffers who worked in his office in 1993 but corroborated in part by people she told about the incident in the 1990s. This week, after Reade said her late mother had called Larry King Live about the incident, the Intercept published a transcript showing she called in to ask for advice about her daughter’s negative experience with a “prominent senator.”
Since news outlets began to investigate her claims, Biden has participated in more than a dozen television interviews and virtual fundraisers but has not addressed Reade’s allegation himself.
The guidance to top Democrats casts Biden as a lifelong “fierce advocate for women” and the claims as unequivocally untrue, leaning heavily on the April 12 report by the New York Times outlining the allegations by Reade.
Biden’s campaign’s talking points say the Times story served as proof that Reade’s allegation “did not happen” — but the story did not conclude this, nor did it conclude that an assault definitively did happen. The Times reported that three former Senate aides, all of whom Reade said she complained to at the time, either did not remember the incident or said that it did not happen. The Times also spoke to former interns who said they did remember Reade suddenly ceasing to oversee them, aligning with Reade’s claim that she was pulled from that duty.
Reade has said that Biden digitally penetrated her in a Senate hallway and told her, “You’re nothing to me.” In multiple interviews with several outlets, Reade has said she complained to others in Biden’s office, filed a report at the time to a Senate personnel office, and said she was demoted after the incident. Reade stood by her recollections in interviews with BuzzFeed News this month.
“All four of the people Mrs. Reade says were notified of an official complaint told the New York Times on the record that they have absolutely no recollection of any such conversation,” the Biden campaign told Democrats, echoing testimonials from former staffers who have painted the claims as “so wildly out of character for Joe Biden.”
The Biden campaign also pointed to the former vice president’s lead role in crafting the Violence Against Women Act, the landmark 1994 bill that significantly increased funding for the prosecution of violent crimes against women. In a livestreamed event with Hillary Clinton on Tuesday, billed as a “Women’s Town Hall,” the Biden campaign began a Q&A session with a question from a voter about women stuck in abusive relationships, now stuck at home in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Violence against women is a huge problem, and especially right now,” Biden said, calling domestic violence prevention “one of the leading causes of my life.”
Last year, when other women came forward to say Biden touched them in a way that was uncomfortable, Reade told the Union, a California newspaper, that while she worked for Biden, the then-senator touched her neck and shoulders. She also told the paper that Biden wanted her to serve drinks at one of his events because he liked her legs. When she refused, she said, her responsibilities were reduced.
Reade first publicly described her recollection of the 1993 assault earlier this year.
The story began to gain momentum outside the mainstream media when Reade went on the podcast of Katie Halper, a left-wing commentator, in late March, and described the more serious allegation of sexual assault. The Intercept reported in March that the Time's Up initiative declined to fund her allegation when she approached the group earlier this year; the Intercept also recently reported that Reade’s mother made the call to Larry King Live in 1993.
The fact that Reade’s story first gained traction in the left-wing independent media led some Biden defenders to dismiss it as a plot by disgruntled Bernie Sanders supporters to hurt Biden. But the story has gone mainstream, being covered in outlets like the New York Times and the Washington Post, both of which gave a serious assessment of Reade’s claim.
Business Insider reporter Rich McHugh, an investigative journalist who served as a producer on Ronan Farrow’s Harvey Weinstein reporting at NBC News, has identified more people who have corroborated elements of Reade’s claim. Those people include a former neighbor of Reade’s who said they discussed the assault allegation at the time and a former colleague who said Reade had told her about more general harassment.
In an interview with BuzzFeed News on Tuesday, Reade said she “would like to know what [Biden and his campaign] think about the reporting of Rich McHugh, who was formerly reporting on the Weinstein case and is a well-renowned investigative reporter. What is their comment on the Business Insider articles that did a deep dive investigation into what I’ve asserted that resulted in multiple corroborations on the record of what I experienced of sexual harassment and sexual assault by Joe Biden?”
The two Democratic operatives who received the talking points earlier this month following the publication of the New York Times report said they had yet to receive further guidance from the Biden campaign.
Reached for comment on Tuesday night, the Biden campaign pointed to the statement issued by Bedingfield, the deputy campaign manager, dated April 13: “Vice President Biden has dedicated his public life to changing the culture and the laws around violence against women. He authored and fought for the passage and reauthorization of the landmark Violence Against Women Act. He firmly believes that women have a right to be heard — and heard respectfully. Such claims should also be diligently reviewed by an independent press. What is clear about this claim: it is untrue. This absolutely did not happen."
In line with the guidance from Biden’s campaign, Democrats who have been asked about the story in recent weeks have pointed to the New York Times report and other stories, including in the Washington Post and the Associated Press, featuring denials by the three former Senate aides: two top staffers, Dennis Toner and Ted Kaufman, as well as Biden’s executive assistant from 1982 to 2000, Marianne Baker.
"I think this case has been investigated,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar said in an MSNBC interview earlier this month, pointing to the New York Times article a few days after its publication.
Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat, dropped out of the presidential race to endorse Biden in March. Before the pandemic shut down campaign events, she was one of his most active supporters, holding rallies for his campaign as he sought to defeat Sanders in the primary.
“I know the vice president as a major leader on domestic abuse. I worked with him on that. And I think that, again, the viewers should read the article. It was very thorough.”
Other Democrats have defended Biden as a trusted advocate for women, particularly in a race against President Donald Trump, who has been accused of more than a dozen acts of sexual misconduct, including assault.
Sen. Kamala Harris said in a recent podcast interview that Reade “has a right to tell her story” and that she could “only speak to the Joe Biden I know. He’s been a lifelong fighter, in terms of stopping violence against women.”
“Vice President Biden has a strong record for fighting for women in his life,” said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a fierce #MeToo advocate, in a radio interview earlier this month.
“We are right now at the investigation stage of the allegation.”
The talking points obtained by BuzzFeed News are printed below:


buzzfeed--2020-05-04--Black Americans Don’t Trust Medicine Because Of Racism. That’s Bad In A Pandemic.

A legacy of racism has left a dangerous divide between the medical establishment and black Americans , who are now dying at higher rates in the coronavirus pandemic .
WASHINGTON — Outside the grocery store in Congress Heights , people are playing dominoes in the parking lot , close together without wearing masks .
An auto service truck driver , who ’ s come to repair a flat tire , is n't wearing a mask either ; he says he 's had pneumonia and survived getting shot already , so what is the coronavirus to him ?
In Washington , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ % black , close to 80 % of coronavirus deaths so far are among black people .
And black people are dying at higher rates than virtually anyone else across the US .
The coronavirus has been especially deadly in black neighborhoods in cities like Chicago , Milwaukee , and New York .
With US case numbers now surpassing 1.1 million people , the stark racial disparity was most recently on display in Richmond , Virginia , where 62 % of COVID-19 cases were among black people in a 52 % white city @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the disease in the city were black .
Last week , Sen. Kamala Harris of California introduced legislation to create a federal task force to investigate racial disparities in coronavirus deaths .
`` Early reports overwhelmingly show that COVID-19 is disproportionately infecting and killing minorities across the nation , ” Harris said .
Black people in the US already have worse health outcomes , even predating the pandemic .
Black men have a life expectancy of 71.5 years , below the national life expectancy of 78.7 years .
Black people have higher @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and other stress-related illnesses — all among the “ comorbidities ” that raise the risk of dying of COVID-19 — and have reduced access to healthcare to help prevent and treat them .
They are also disproportionately performing the low-paying “ essential ” jobs that increase risks of exposure to the novel coronavirus .
The disparities have led some commentators to argue that black people need to take better charge of their health to stem the tide of deaths .
But decades of mistreatment — whether it ’ s being denied care at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or being denied pain medications by racist doctors today — have created a structural wall of suspicion of the medical system , as well as a deep stigma underlying the notion of being sick .
“ You can ’ t just parachute in now to tell people you are going to help them with a pandemic when they have been neglected so long , ” Martin Pernick , a medical historian at the University of Michigan , told BuzzFeed News .
“ They ’ ll ask , ‘ Where were you when my @ @ @ @ @ @ @ else ?
’ and even with good intentions , you can ’ t blame them.
” This distrust of healthcare is born out of medical racism going back to the slavery era , Pernick said .
Physicians were employed to ready slaves for auctions and performed cruel surgical experiments on them without raising the question of consent — memories that are buried but still running deep , an undercurrent of skepticism toward medicine in long-neglected communities .
Much of the suspicion around abuse in human experimentation is rooted in the infamous Tuskegee experiment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ communications professor at the University of Southern California , who has looked at why black people volunteer less often for clinical trials .
The 40-year experiment , which ended in 1972 , involved government researchers leaving 600 black sharecroppers deliberately untreated for syphilis even after the discovery in 1947 that penicillin could cure the disease .
Twenty-eight of the men died of syphilis and another 100 died of related complications .
“ Every time I work with this population , if they are over 20 , they are well aware of Tuskegee and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” said Murphy .
“ Unfortunately , this means that some drugs might reach the market without being tested specifically on African Americans who may have unique side effects.
” Over 1,100 coronavirus clinical trials are currently underway in the US , and the FDA has approved emergency use of the antiviral drug remdesivir to treat COVID-19 after preliminary results from small trials for the experimental drug suggested it could shorten hospital stays .
Large vaccine trials are expected to start in the fall .
Medical racism still persists today .
Doctors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the slavery-era belief that black people feel less pain than white people do , and a 2007 University of Pennsylvania survey across 20 major US cities found that black people distrusted doctors more than white people did in all but three cities — Las Vegas , San Antonio , and Riverside , California .
“ Because we know that often , African Americans — their pain is not recognized or seen as bad .
That can lead to issues in terms of whether or not they ’ re seen as having a severity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lillie D. Williamson of the University of Wisconsin , Madison , whose work looks at the relationship between medical mistrust and experiences of discrimination , told BuzzFeed News .
BuzzFeed News has reported several cases of black people in the US who have been denied COVID-19 tests despite showing symptoms , having underlying conditions , and asking for tests .
Williamson suggested medical mistrust increases as more people hear those stories .
As more news comes out about black Americans seeking medical attention and being turned away , Williamson said , we need @ @ @ @ @ @ @ individuals as they consume that , and what that means for people ’ s willingness to seek help .
“ People feel like , 'What ’ s the point ?
I already know I can ’ t trust physicians , look at all these examples , ’ ” added Williamson , noting that this view doesn ’ t represent all black Americans .
Due to years of mistrust , communities of color may lack familiarity with the healthcare options that are available , physician Janet Seabrook of Community HealthNet Health Centers in Gary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ The misinformation , disinformation , and wishful thinking run rampant , ” she said pointing to a dangerous rumor in early March that black people can not contract COVID-19 .
In her own family , she had to convince an older relative to seek treatment for prostate cancer ; as a boy in the Deep South , that relative saw that almost as soon as someone learned they had cancer , they died .
`` Imagine trying to get my family member in a clinical trial if I were not in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Imagine what would have happened to this family member without a resident doctor in the family . ''
There ’ s also a stigma associated with the virus , which some are comparing to the wave of deaths from the AIDS epidemic .
One New York resident , W.C. , who asked to be identified only by initials to discuss her medical status , said she fears being judged .
When W.C. announced that her grandmother died on Facebook , she did not mention it was from complications related to COVID-19 , nor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mother had also tested positive .
“ The only reason people are not talking is because they are taking it like it ’ s AIDS , and it ’ s really not like that , ” W.C. said .
“ That ’ s why I tell people , ‘ You sitting here scared to talk about it , and you could be somebody that got it and don ’ t even know it.
’ ” Robert Cornegy , a New York City Council member who represents a large black population in Brooklyn , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ constituents take social distancing any less seriously because of a distrust in medicine .
At the same time , he chose to keep his own COVID-19 diagnosis private .
“ I think that people were very confused about the disease , very confused in conflicting stories around who it would impact negatively .
So I didn ’ t want to play into that , ” Cornegy told BuzzFeed News .
“ I know what the fears are of people , and they have a reasonable expectation that their leadership will keep themselves healthy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ community along.
” That community is being hit hard .
As is the Bronx , the borough that in early April was projected to lead the city in COVID-19 deaths ; some lawmakers have attributed the spike to insufficient testing in the borough 's most vulnerable communities .
On Wednesday , a JAMA Network report looked at COVID-19 hospitalizations across every borough of New York City , where about 17 % of all US cases had occurred by late April .
The Bronx , which has the highest share of racial and ethnic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ poverty , and the lowest levels education of all New York City boroughs , had the highest rates of hospitalization and death related to the novel coronavirus .
“ People who are prepared to help will have to meet black communities halfway by asking them questions about what help they need — not just what they want to give them now and then walking away , ” said Pernick , the medical historian .
“ They will have to overcome an understandable legacy of suspicion .
”

This distrust of healthcare is born out of medical racism going back to the slavery era, Pernick said. Physicians were employed to ready slaves for auctions and performed cruel surgical experiments on them without raising the question of consent — memories that are buried but still running deep, an undercurrent of skepticism toward medicine in long-neglected communities.
Much of the suspicion around abuse in human experimentation is rooted in the infamous Tuskegee experiment, said Sheila Murphy, a health communications professor at the University of Southern California, who has looked at why black people volunteer less often for clinical trials. The 40-year experiment, which ended in 1972, involved government researchers leaving 600 black sharecroppers deliberately untreated for syphilis even after the discovery in 1947 that penicillin could cure the disease. Twenty-eight of the men died of syphilis and another 100 died of related complications.
“Every time I work with this population, if they are over 20, they are well aware of Tuskegee and very leery of participating in clinical trials,” said Murphy. “Unfortunately, this means that some drugs might reach the market without being tested specifically on African Americans who may have unique side effects.”
Over 1,100 coronavirus clinical trials are currently underway in the US, and the FDA has approved emergency use of the antiviral drug remdesivir to treat COVID-19 after preliminary results from small trials for the experimental drug suggested it could shorten hospital stays. Large vaccine trials are expected to start in the fall.
Medical racism still persists today. Doctors in one 2016 survey still subscribed to the slavery-era belief that black people feel less pain than white people do, and a 2007 University of Pennsylvania survey across 20 major US cities found that black people distrusted doctors more than white people did in all but three cities — Las Vegas, San Antonio, and Riverside, California.
“Because we know that often, African Americans — their pain is not recognized or seen as bad. That can lead to issues in terms of whether or not they’re seen as having a severity that warrants certain next steps,” Lillie D. Williamson of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, whose work looks at the relationship between medical mistrust and experiences of discrimination, told BuzzFeed News.
BuzzFeed News has reported several cases of black people in the US who have been denied COVID-19 tests despite showing symptoms, having underlying conditions, and asking for tests.
Williamson suggested medical mistrust increases as more people hear those stories. As more news comes out about black Americans seeking medical attention and being turned away, Williamson said, we need to consider “what that does for individuals as they consume that, and what that means for people’s willingness to seek help.
“People feel like, 'What’s the point? I already know I can’t trust physicians, look at all these examples,’” added Williamson, noting that this view doesn’t represent all black Americans.


buzzfeed--2020-05-05--Black Americans Don’t Trust Medicine Because Of Racism. That’s Bad In A Pandemic.

A legacy of racism has left a dangerous divide between the medical establishment and black Americans , who are now dying at high rates in the coronavirus pandemic .
WASHINGTON — Outside the grocery store in Congress Heights , people are playing dominoes in the parking lot , close together without wearing masks .
An auto service truck driver , who ’ s come to repair a flat tire , is n't wearing a mask either ; he says he 's had pneumonia and survived getting shot already , so what is the coronavirus to him ?
In Washington , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ % black , close to 80 % of coronavirus deaths so far are among black people .
And black people are dying at higher rates than virtually anyone else across the US .
The coronavirus has been especially deadly in black neighborhoods in cities like Chicago , Milwaukee , and New York .
With US case numbers now surpassing 1.1 million people , the stark racial disparity was most recently on display in Richmond , Virginia , where 62 % of COVID-19 cases were among black people in a 52 % white city @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the disease in the city were black .
Last week , Sen. Kamala Harris of California introduced legislation to create a federal task force to investigate racial disparities in coronavirus deaths .
`` Early reports overwhelmingly show that COVID-19 is disproportionately infecting and killing minorities across the nation , ” Harris said .
Black people in the US already have worse health outcomes , even predating the pandemic .
Black men have a life expectancy of 71.5 years , below the national life expectancy of 78.7 years .
Black people have higher @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and other stress-related illnesses — all among the “ comorbidities ” that raise the risk of dying of COVID-19 — and have reduced access to healthcare to help prevent and treat them .
They are also disproportionately performing the low-paying “ essential ” jobs that increase risks of exposure to the novel coronavirus .
The disparities have led some commentators to argue that black people need to take better charge of their health to stem the tide of deaths .
But decades of mistreatment — whether it ’ s being denied care at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or being denied pain medications by racist doctors today — have created a structural wall of suspicion of the medical system , as well as a deep stigma underlying the notion of being sick .
“ You can ’ t just parachute in now to tell people you are going to help them with a pandemic when they have been neglected so long , ” Martin Pernick , a medical historian at the University of Michigan , told BuzzFeed News .
“ They ’ ll ask , ‘ Where were you when my @ @ @ @ @ @ @ else ?
’ and even with good intentions , you can ’ t blame them.
” This distrust of healthcare is born out of medical racism going back to the slavery era , Pernick said .
Physicians were employed to ready slaves for auctions and performed cruel surgical experiments on them without raising the question of consent — memories that are buried but still running deep , an undercurrent of skepticism toward medicine in long-neglected communities .
Much of the suspicion around abuse in human experimentation is rooted in the infamous Tuskegee experiment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ communications professor at the University of Southern California , who has looked at why black people volunteer less often for clinical trials .
The 40-year experiment , which ended in 1972 , involved government researchers leaving 600 black sharecroppers deliberately untreated for syphilis even after the discovery in 1947 that penicillin could cure the disease .
Twenty-eight of the men died of syphilis and another 100 died of related complications .
“ Every time I work with this population , if they are over 20 , they are well aware of Tuskegee and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” said Murphy .
“ Unfortunately , this means that some drugs might reach the market without being tested specifically on African Americans who may have unique side effects.
” Over 1,100 coronavirus clinical trials are currently underway in the US , and the FDA has approved emergency use of the antiviral drug remdesivir to treat COVID-19 after preliminary results from small trials for the experimental drug suggested it could shorten hospital stays .
Large vaccine trials are expected to start in the fall .
Medical racism still persists today .
Doctors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the slavery-era belief that black people feel less pain than white people do , and a 2007 University of Pennsylvania survey across 20 major US cities found that black people distrusted doctors more than white people did in all but three cities — Las Vegas , San Antonio , and Riverside , California .
“ Because we know that often , African Americans — their pain is not recognized or seen as bad .
That can lead to issues in terms of whether or not they ’ re seen as having a severity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lillie D. Williamson of the University of Wisconsin , Madison , whose work looks at the relationship between medical mistrust and experiences of discrimination , told BuzzFeed News .
BuzzFeed News has reported several cases of black people in the US who have been denied COVID-19 tests despite showing symptoms , having underlying conditions , and asking for tests .
Williamson suggested medical mistrust increases as more people hear those stories .
As more news comes out about black Americans seeking medical attention and being turned away , Williamson said , we need @ @ @ @ @ @ @ individuals as they consume that , and what that means for people ’ s willingness to seek help .
“ People feel like , 'What ’ s the point ?
I already know I can ’ t trust physicians , look at all these examples , ’ ” added Williamson , noting that this view doesn ’ t represent all black Americans .
Due to years of mistrust , communities of color may lack familiarity with the healthcare options that are available , physician Janet Seabrook of Community HealthNet Health Centers in Gary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ The misinformation , disinformation , and wishful thinking run rampant , ” she said pointing to a dangerous rumor in early March that black people can not contract COVID-19 .
In her own family , she had to convince an older relative to seek treatment for prostate cancer ; as a boy in the Deep South , that relative saw that almost as soon as someone learned they had cancer , they died .
`` Imagine trying to get my family member in a clinical trial if I were not in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Imagine what would have happened to this family member without a resident doctor in the family . ''
There ’ s also a stigma associated with the virus , which some are comparing to the wave of deaths from the AIDS epidemic .
One New York resident , W.C. , who asked to be identified only by initials to discuss her medical status , said she fears being judged .
When W.C. announced that her grandmother died on Facebook , she did not mention it was from complications related to COVID-19 , nor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mother had also tested positive .
“ The only reason people are not talking is because they are taking it like it ’ s AIDS , and it ’ s really not like that , ” W.C. said .
“ That ’ s why I tell people , ‘ You sitting here scared to talk about it , and you could be somebody that got it and don ’ t even know it.
’ ” Robert Cornegy , a New York City Council member who represents a large black population in Brooklyn , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ constituents take social distancing any less seriously because of a distrust in medicine .
At the same time , he chose to keep his own COVID-19 diagnosis private .
“ I think that people were very confused about the disease , very confused in conflicting stories around who it would impact negatively .
So I didn ’ t want to play into that , ” Cornegy told BuzzFeed News .
“ I know what the fears are of people , and they have a reasonable expectation that their leadership will keep themselves healthy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ community along.
” That community is being hit hard .
As is the Bronx , the borough that in early April was projected to lead the city in COVID-19 deaths ; some lawmakers have attributed the spike to insufficient testing in the borough 's most vulnerable communities .
On Wednesday , a JAMA Network report looked at COVID-19 hospitalizations across every borough of New York City , where about 17 % of all US cases had occurred by late April .
The Bronx , which has the highest share of racial and ethnic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ poverty , and the lowest levels education of all New York City boroughs , had the highest rates of hospitalization and death related to the novel coronavirus .
“ People who are prepared to help will have to meet black communities halfway by asking them questions about what help they need — not just what they want to give them now and then walking away , ” said Pernick , the medical historian .
“ They will have to overcome an understandable legacy of suspicion .
”


buzzfeed--2020-05-06--Waiting For A Sense Of Time In The Coronavirus Pandemic

What five novels from the quarantine lists have to say about living through COVID-19 and the surreal aspects of 2020 — from waiting to isolation to loneliness .
Eventually the coronavirus pandemic will be an event that happened , rather than a period of time people lived through .
The weirdness with time lately — April flashed by after March felt like years , days and weeks slipped from their usual rhythms into a fluid haze , and something that you yourself did in February could seem like it came from a ghost life — might originate with the fact @ @ @ @ @ @ @ real historical period .
This kind of sheer disruption has happened in the last few decades in the aftermath of hurricanes or 9/11 , but probably not at this universal scale since earlier pandemics or wars .
If you look back at coverage of the 1918 flu pandemic from that fall , you ’ ll find stories about influenza behind dozens of World War I headlines .
There are bigger stories and little updates , like a surge in the sale of black fur or Cleveland ’ s reopening “ as before ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the surgeon general on the “ rules to avoid respiratory diseases.
” The papers carry incremental news about ill-fated provisional governments in Russia , and suffrage and Prohibition in the United States .
Each — the flu pandemic , WWI , the vote , Prohibition , and the USSR — eventually flattened into capital-h History , with linear data points inside a larger beginning and end , and deeper complications to be explored at a remove .
Now , though , we ’ re living inside a vague period .
You ca n't @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the beginning or end of the pandemic .
Isolated from each other , physically and in the sharp inequalities of this disease , there ’ s no easy way to compare experiences .
This could still be the beginning of the pandemic .
As Jessica Morgan recently observed , “ Living through a massive historical event that unravels the very fabric of global society sucks , and I hate it !
” If there is one common aspect of the pandemic it might be that big wait : We will all be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ scorchingly unequal as our current lives might be — indefinitely .
Everyone is waiting for the peak , the reopening , the vaccine , the testing ramp-up , for this to be over , things to go back to normal , or for things to never be normal again .
“ The whole town seemed like a railway waiting room , ” Albert Camus writes , deep into The Plague , which , as you 've heard by now , concerns the bubonic plague fictionally sweeping Oran , Algeria .
“ None of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exalted emotion ; all had trite , monotonous feelings , ” his narrator notes .
“ ‘ It 's high time it stopped , ’ people would say , because in time of calamity the obvious thing is to desire its end , and in fact they wanted it to end.
” To pass the time , I ’ ve been reading novels like The Plague from quarantine lists .
My apartment 's full of nuclear explosions , pandemics , hallucinations , dystopias , drugs that put you to sleep for months , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ often brings isolation and illness together is the surreal : Zombies shut down cities ( Ling Ma ’ s Severance and Colson Whitehead ’ s Zone One ) ; a mass extinction event leaves one survivor in the Austrian mountains ( Marlen Haushofer ’ s The Wall ) ; a mercenary searches for a woman in a ruined , sci-fi world ( Anna Kavan ’ s cult classic , Ice ) ; Frankenstein builds the creature , who revolts against the scientist — and in turn , the creature ’ s retribution for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ If all that sounds dark , there ’ s still a counterintuitive warmth to be found : You might be stunned at the kinds of little thoughts and cares found deep in novels from 10 , 70 , 200 years ago that still resonate .
Whatever you ’ ve thought , you ’ re not alone .
Isolation can be difficult to depict on its own terms — nothing happens , not exactly .
But narrative fiction deals well with the subject .
A novel can capture what happens inside someone ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ resonance of Jane Austen , for instance , arguably rests on the fundamental loneliness of her protagonists , and the resolution of that alienation .
And even if their authors had other ideas ( Severance has a lot to say about consumerism and the immigrant experience , for instance ) , apocalyptic plots can externalize and dramatize isolation .
In The Wall , a couple goes to town during a holiday weekend in the countryside and never returns .
Instead , their nameless friend finds herself permanently alone , with the titular wall @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dead from the living .
The novel , a sort of existential , pacifist ’ s Robinson Crusoe , takes the form of a journal as Haushofer ’ s narrator records her daily progress ( the state of the wood pile and potatoes , the health of the cow ) toward survival , intermixed with her reflections on her life before .
“ Sometimes I try to treat myself like a robot : do this and go there and do n't forget to do that , ” she writes .
“ But it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I 'm a bad robot ; I 'm still a human being who thinks and feels , and I shall not be able to shake either habit .
That 's why I 'm sitting here , writing down everything that 's happened.
” Living without a fixed point ahead , except her limited ammunition for hunting and the constraints of winter , she writes of a devotion to keeping her clock wound and the dates notched , until the clock ceases to function , and a fever leaves the journal untouched for an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ then , gets lost .
The book , published during the Cold War ’ 60s , works so thoroughly that you can find yourself thinking , Well , here ’ s this woman , totally alone at the end of the world !
Like it ’ s a nonfiction account and somehow the world restarted between then and now .
Loneliness , of course , has been written about quite a bit since the pandemic began , primarily in the context of those who live by themselves — the ones separated by an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ isolation will begat loneliness during this indefinite separation .
This is hardly exclusive to the physically distanced , however .
You can feel alone because you have no opportunity to recoup yourself , or because you stand apart from the people who surround you .
You can feel intact seven weeks into what might look like a lonely quarantine from the outside .
That ’ s because isolation , solitude , and loneliness are distinct states , as Hannah Arendt explains at length at the very end of The Origins of Totalitarianism .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ is in a situation in which I can not act , because there is nobody who will act with me — without being lonely , ” she writes .
“ And I can be lonely — that is in a situation in which I as a person feel myself deserted by all human companionship — without being isolated.
” Anyone who knows something about the subject can tell you : The pain and promise of loneliness is the idea that you might be able to fix it .
Much like the novel , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 19th century , brought to the fore by the industrial revolution and the rise of mass movement .
Still , Arendt , writing in 1951 , delves into what Cato , Epictetus ( a Greek philosopher , who ’ d been a slave ) , and Martin Luther wrote on the subject , long before the modern city .
Her concern was specific : Arendt viewed loneliness as “ the common ground for terror.
” And , she argued , the individual requires the company of others to confirm both the individual ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the individual ’ s accurate feel for what occurs around them .
( This is the central dilemma of Frankenstein , an enlightenment novel wrecked by horror movie reduction , in which the monster understands how cruelly alone he is in a world repulsed by his appearance . )
“ What makes loneliness so unbearable is the loss of one ’ s own self which can be realized in solitude , ” Arendt writes , “ but confirmed in its identity only by the trusting and trustworthy company of my equals.
” Is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all that hazy time right now ?
That sounds obvious in a way — there are no weddings , or baptisms , or graduations to mark the passage of time in big ways ; no commutes , or Friday afternoons , or Monday mornings to mark the passage of time in small ways .
But the ambient sense of self and our sense of internal logic relies on moving through literal places , and the cumulative effect of community on a person .
You hear this when people talk about dying main streets @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or even something as simple as never going into the same restaurant your late parent loved anymore .
If you ’ ve walked an empty city street during the pandemic , you know the way businesses , cars , and pedestrians — even the places you ’ ll never enter and the people to whom you ’ ll never speak — make up the ambient vibe of a place by virtue of their unsettling absence .
“ The silent city was no more than an assemblage of huge , inert cubes , between @ @ @ @ @ @ @ men , carapace in bronze , with their blank stone or metal faces , conjured up a sorry resemblance of what man had been , ” Camus writes in The Plague .
Severance ’ s protagonist , Candace , looks up one day from her Times Square office and realizes she ’ s entirely alone as the pandemic advances .
“ There were no tourists , no street vendors , no patrol cars .
There was no one.
” At first , this results in her photographing the city anonymously , taking requests @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the world about what ’ s become of places they knew ; later , truly alone , she realizes she must leave .
In Kavan ’ s Ice — a modernist book with fluid set pieces that dissolve and glitch into each other — the nameless narrator weaves from frozen , military-ruled , abandoned countries back to warm towns , full of life , searching for a nameless girl .
Each time he returns to one realm , the other is almost forgotten .
But as he moves through the cold , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people writing about emptied-out cities and towns right now — “ a scene made of nylon with nothing behind , ” “ a discarded film set.
” “ In a peculiar way , ” Kavan ’ s narrator observes , “ the unreality of the outer world appeared to be an extension of my own disturbed mind.
” In this indeterminate , interim stage of the pandemic , there ’ s been a lot of conjecture about What Office Life Will Look Like , or restaurants , or baseball .
The occasional certainty @ @ @ @ @ @ @ read like science fiction — for some other group of people , not us , going through the new routines in a 3D rendering .
Those pieces don ’ t always , and can ’ t really , dwell on what happens “ when this is over ” : that even if you wanted big changes , what you loved about your life before might forever change — people and places in your area missing , or slipping away in the aftermath , never to return — perhaps changing our own senses of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t think people really can contemplate , realistically , what that part looks like — the nature of our lives changed less in the thermometer-gun ways , and more in the emotional , sentimental , casual ones .
The beauty of novels , actually , is that they offer endings , even the ones that slip any kind of conclusion .
Monster and creator die .
The couple escapes .
The lack of resolution is the resolution .
Here , instead , we live through the passage of the virus , apart and @ @ @ @ @ @ @

Eventually the coronavirus pandemic will be an event that happened, rather than a period of time people lived through.
The weirdness with time lately — April flashed by after March felt like years, days and weeks slipped from their usual rhythms into a fluid haze, and something that you yourself did in February could seem like it came from a ghost life — might originate with the fact we’re actually living through a real historical period. This kind of sheer disruption has happened in the last few decades in the aftermath of hurricanes or 9/11, but probably not at this universal scale since earlier pandemics or wars.
If you look back at coverage of the 1918 flu pandemic from that fall, you’ll find stories about influenza behind dozens of World War I headlines. There are bigger stories and little updates, like a surge in the sale of black fur or Cleveland’s reopening “as before” after four weeks, and ads from the surgeon general on the “rules to avoid respiratory diseases.” The papers carry incremental news about ill-fated provisional governments in Russia, and suffrage and Prohibition in the United States. Each — the flu pandemic, WWI, the vote, Prohibition, and the USSR — eventually flattened into capital-h History, with linear data points inside a larger beginning and end, and deeper complications to be explored at a remove.
Now, though, we’re living inside a vague period. You can't locate the relative distance between right now and the beginning or end of the pandemic. Isolated from each other, physically and in the sharp inequalities of this disease, there’s no easy way to compare experiences. This could still be the beginning of the pandemic. As Jessica Morgan recently observed, “Living through a massive historical event that unravels the very fabric of global society sucks, and I hate it!”
If there is one common aspect of the pandemic it might be that big wait: We will all be doing what we’re doing — scorchingly unequal as our current lives might be — indefinitely. Everyone is waiting for the peak, the reopening, the vaccine, the testing ramp-up, for this to be over, things to go back to normal, or for things to never be normal again.
“The whole town seemed like a railway waiting room,” Albert Camus writes, deep into The Plague, which, as you've heard by now, concerns the bubonic plague fictionally sweeping Oran, Algeria.
“None of us was capable any longer of an exalted emotion; all had trite, monotonous feelings,” his narrator notes. “‘It's high time it stopped,’ people would say, because in time of calamity the obvious thing is to desire its end, and in fact they wanted it to end.”
To pass the time, I’ve been reading novels like The Plague from quarantine lists. My apartment's full of nuclear explosions, pandemics, hallucinations, dystopias, drugs that put you to sleep for months, and monsters.
In fiction, what often brings isolation and illness together is the surreal: Zombies shut down cities (Ling Ma’s Severance and Colson Whitehead’s Zone One); a mass extinction event leaves one survivor in the Austrian mountains (Marlen Haushofer’s The Wall); a mercenary searches for a woman in a ruined, sci-fi world (Anna Kavan’s cult classic, Ice); Frankenstein builds the creature, who revolts against the scientist — and in turn, the creature’s retribution for his own loneliness destroys them both. If all that sounds dark, there’s still a counterintuitive warmth to be found: You might be stunned at the kinds of little thoughts and cares found deep in novels from 10, 70, 200 years ago that still resonate. Whatever you’ve thought, you’re not alone.


buzzfeed--2020-05-05--Obama Privately Blasted A Republican Investigation Into Joe Biden And Ukraine, Calling It An Effort

Obama Privately Blasted A Republican Investigation Into Joe Biden And Ukraine, Calling It An Effort To Boost “Russian Disinformation”

However , Obama ultimately agreed that the records could be released “ in the interest of countering the misinformation campaign underlying this request , ” according to the letter , which was provided to BuzzFeed News by his office in response to questions about the records request .
Since mid-March , the National Archives has turned over around 9,400 pages of records to the Senate committees , according to an agency spokesperson .
The letter from Obama adds to Democratic criticism of the Senate probe as being a politically motivated effort to damage Biden ’ s presidential campaign against President @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Obama or his office has commented on the controversial investigation into his former vice president .
The November request for records came from Republican Sens .
Chuck Grassley and Ron Johnson , who have been investigating matters related to Democrats and Ukraine since the fall , when Trump was impeached for his interactions with Ukraine .
Grassley and Johnson , who chair the Finance and Homeland Security committees , respectively , asked the National Archives for records on meetings between the Obama administration and Ukrainian officials , as well meetings between Obama officials @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the heart of the debunked Ukrainian election interference narrative .
“ It arises out of efforts by some , actively supported by Russia , to shift the blame for Russian interference in the 2016 election to Ukraine , ” said the letter , dated March 13 .
It pointed to comments made by Fiona Hill , a former senior National Security Council official in the Trump White House , during the impeachment investigation into the president , calling Ukrainian election meddling “ a fictional narrative that is being perpetrated and propagated by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Obama ’ s office told the National Archives and Records Administration — which maintains presidential records — that a request from two top Republican senators for Obama administration documents related to Ukraine was improper .
WASHINGTON — The office of former president Barack Obama privately blasted a congressional investigation into former vice president Joe Biden and his son , as well as alleged Ukrainian election interference , calling it an effort “ to give credence to a Russian disinformation campaign , ” according to a letter obtained by BuzzFeed News .
Under @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whose records are sought and the current president are allowed to review and claim executive privilege over records requests .
`` Since 2017 , the Office of President Obama has produced 12,880 pages of presidential records in response to special access requests from the White House and Congress , '' the letter said .
In this case , representatives for Obama and Trump reviewed the records , the National Archives said , and neither had asserted privilege .
`` The accusation that our oversight gives ‘ credence to a Russian disinformation campaign ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Altenburg said in a statement on Tuesday , adding that the `` real Russian disinformation '' was contained in a dossier on Trump and Russia compiled in 2016 by former MI6 agent Christopher Steele .
`` Baseless accusations aside , our legitimate oversight will continue until we get answers for the American people.
” It ’ s unclear what ’ s in the Obama administration records that the senators now possess , but Grassley and Johnson have said they want to know whether reports about Ukrainian officials working to undermine the Trump campaign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ukraine was affected in any way by Biden ’ s son , Hunter , serving on the board of a corrupt Ukrainian energy company .
The senators have insisted that the probe is not an effort to help the president get re-elected .
`` Our investigation is extensive and our request for President Obama ’ s records is only one of many lines of inquiry , '' Altenburg added .
A spokesperson for Grassley did not respond to a request for comment .
US intelligence officials reportedly told Congress in the fall that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ interference during the 2016 election on Ukraine .
The Senate Intelligence Committee , which has been investigating Russian interference for more than three years , inquired about the Ukrainian interference theory and came up short , Politico reported .
“ The request for early release of presidential records in order to give credence to a Russian disinformation campaign — one that has already been thoroughly investigated by a bipartisan congressional committee — is without precedent , ” said the letter , signed by Obama ’ s records representative .
“ This use of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ purpose , and does not outweigh or justify infringing confidentiality interests that all presidents have sought to protect.
” Despite allowing the records to be released , Obama ’ s office leveled a warning about Grassley and Johnson ’ s request , saying that “ abuse ” of the process by which Congress can access presidential records “ strikes at the heart of presidential confidentiality interests and undermines the statutory framework and norms that govern access to presidential records.
” Though Grassley has previously raised questions about Chalupa , a former Democratic National @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ramped up in the fall and has continued since then .
BuzzFeed News previously reported that the senators were expecting approximately 10,000 pages of records from the National Archives and thousands more from the State Department .
The investigation has been slowed by the coronavirus outbreak but not halted .
Last week , Grassley and Johnson penned a letter to the State Department asking for additional documents following an initial request for records in November .

WASHINGTON — The office of former president Barack Obama privately blasted a congressional investigation into former vice president Joe Biden and his son, as well as alleged Ukrainian election interference, calling it an effort “to give credence to a Russian disinformation campaign,” according to a letter obtained by BuzzFeed News.
In March, Obama’s office told the National Archives and Records Administration — which maintains presidential records — that a request from two top Republican senators for Obama administration documents related to Ukraine was improper.
“It arises out of efforts by some, actively supported by Russia, to shift the blame for Russian interference in the 2016 election to Ukraine,” said the letter, dated March 13. It pointed to comments made by Fiona Hill, a former senior National Security Council official in the Trump White House, during the impeachment investigation into the president, calling Ukrainian election meddling “a fictional narrative that is being perpetrated and propagated by the Russian security services.”
The November request for records came from Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley and Ron Johnson, who have been investigating matters related to Democrats and Ukraine since the fall, when Trump was impeached for his interactions with Ukraine. Grassley and Johnson, who chair the Finance and Homeland Security committees, respectively, asked the National Archives for records on meetings between the Obama administration and Ukrainian officials, as well meetings between Obama officials and Alexandra Chalupa, the Democratic operative at the heart of the debunked Ukrainian election interference narrative.
The letter from Obama adds to Democratic criticism of the Senate probe as being a politically motivated effort to damage Biden’s presidential campaign against President Donald Trump and represents the first time Obama or his office has commented on the controversial investigation into his former vice president.
However, Obama ultimately agreed that the records could be released “in the interest of countering the misinformation campaign underlying this request,” according to the letter, which was provided to BuzzFeed News by his office in response to questions about the records request. Since mid-March, the National Archives has turned over around 9,400 pages of records to the Senate committees, according to an agency spokesperson.


buzzfeed--2020-05-06--What It's Like For Muslim Essential Workers To Fast During The Coronavirus

Nearly 40 people around the world told BuzzFeed News that Ramadan is hammering home their isolation during the pandemic : They miss friends , family , and their mosques .
Al Haj Shah was feeling dazed and sleepy .
He had a headache from breathing beneath a mask all day , and he hadn ’ t eaten since the night before .
Talking to his boss took almost too much energy to manage , and earlier that day his colleague had jokingly asked him if he was having a stroke .
Shah is a nurse practitioner working in the emergency @ @ @ @ @ @ @ NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City , one of the worst-hit regions in the global coronavirus crisis .
The 27-year-old sees patients with COVID-19 ( the disease caused by the novel coronavirus ) every day , and he ’ s constantly having to think on his feet .
He was also in his first week of fasting for the sacred month of Ramadan , during which Muslims who are able to abstain from food and water during the daylight hours and practice daily prayers .
This year , Ramadan started April 23 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was starting to dip in New York , and it will last until the major holiday of Eid al-Fitr on May 23 .
While a month of fasting is never easy — that is part of the point of the practice — observing Ramadan will be harder this year for many Muslims , during a time of immense stress and social isolation — and long , busy schedules for essential workers .
“ This first week of fasting has been crazy , ” Shah told BuzzFeed News from his apartment on his day @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Wearing a mask all day , fasting or not , takes a toll on your body , ” he said slowly , audibly lethargic .
“ You ’ re breathing your own oxygen back pretty much ; you 're inhaling much more CO2 .
And when you get a headache and you can ’ t drink water , it just adds fuel to the fire .
It ’ s been rough.
” During the first week of Ramadan , BuzzFeed News asked Muslims in the US and abroad how they plan on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re feeling about it , and how it ’ s been so far .
Thirty-eight people in 6 countries ( including Morocco , the Netherlands , and Indonesia ) and 12 US states responded , half of whom said they were essential workers .
Nearly all of the respondents said they had concerns or apprehensions about Ramadan overlapping with the height of the pandemic .
Many said they felt isolated from their friends , family , and Muslim communities .
None of the respondents said they were going to their mosques during @ @ @ @ @ @ @ US are closed due to the pandemic , and some are playing a version of the call to prayer that tells people to stay home ) , and most of them said they dearly missed it .
Praying with an imam via a livestream , they said , is just not the same as being surrounded by people praying alongside you .
Some expressed concern about fasting during a time when having a strong immune system is at its utmost importance .
Though you are allowed to postpone your fast if you are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and dehydrated could put those who are exposed to the virus at greater risk , or give those who have it ( and may not know ) worse symptoms .
Others said they were worried about being able to obtain halal meats when access to food can be limited by panic hoarding , delivery interruptions , and travel restrictions .
For many , the month ahead is daunting .
“ In some ways it ’ s not that different .
There are days working in the [ intensive care unit ] when , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , we don ’ t get to eat or drink all day long .
But if I ’ m dehydrated , if I ’ m weak from hunger , my immunity is weaker , ” Mustafa Salehmohamed , a pulmonary critical care physician , who works shifts in the intensive care unit treating coronavirus patients at a hospital in Queens told BuzzFeed News .
Because of his exposure to patients with COVID-19 , Salehmohamed has had to self-quarantine from his wife and two daughters during Ramadan .
He stays upstairs in his house @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , while his family stays downstairs , his wife sleeping in their kids ’ room .
For iftar , his family brings him plates of food and leaves it outside his door , and the younger daughter , an 8-year-old , sometimes brings him drawings she ’ s made .
Occasionally the whole family will eat together , sitting on the floor — him at the door of his room and them at the other side of the hallway — safely distanced in their own home .
Other times he eats alone .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , connection to God , and connection to community .
Large gatherings in the mosque , communal prayer , and nightly meals with friends and family breaking the day ’ s fast ( called iftar ) are important parts of the holiday that many Muslims all over the world can not participate in due to stay-at-home orders and social distancing .
But the month is also about self-reflection , self-improvement , understanding the suffering of those less fortunate who regularly go without food and water , and giving back to your community and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spoke to BuzzFeed News said .
One-third of the global population is currently under a lockdown , and some respondents said they now have more time for self-reflection and meditating on the suffering of others .
hough they were sad to be isolated from their mosque and their families , four people wrote that the time alone has given them peace , more time to read the Qur ’ an , and time to focus on their prayers .
“ I am looking forward to the calmness it brings , ” Marwa Saeed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Midlands , England , wrote to BuzzFeed News .
“ [ I am ] a bit apprehensive as it will be a unique Ramadhan , but hopeful that it will make us appreciate our blessings even more , and connect us more closely to our Creator.
” An 18-year-old in New York City who asked to remain anonymous wrote to BuzzFeed News that both Ramadan and obeying the stay-at-home orders are about patience and respect for others .
“ Ramadan teaches all people about patience .
We stay patient for Iftar , when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also stay patient for Eid-ul-Fitr , the end of Ramadan , as it is a time of joy , ” they wrote .
“ This is an important lesson for the quarantine that we are in .
We need to stay hopeful , follow medical guidance and pray that our world and all of its beloved people heal.
” In March , the National Muslim Task Force issued a statement that urged Muslims in North America to follow local protocols for self-quarantine and social distancing and requested that congregational prayers be suspended .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ hadith , on plagues , which is pretty similar to the recommendations being given by governments during the pandemic : “ If you hear of a plague in a land , then do not go into it , ” the hadith reads .
“ If it happens in land where you are , then do not go out of it.
” As one of the Five Pillars of Islam , fasting is obligatory , but it does not apply to those for whom fasting would put their health at risk .
The elderly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are sick , and people who are pregnant are traditionally allowed not to fast .
Those who can ’ t fast on certain days for other reasons ( for example , people who are menstruating are not allowed to fast ) can make up for those missed days by fasting later in the year .
In early April , a group of Muslim religious scholars in the UK signed a fatwa — a ruling on a point of Islamic law — giving Muslim medical workers permission to postpone fasting during the pandemic .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ plan to try to fast for Ramadan this year , but if they feel it is putting their health or their patients at risk , they may have to make up those days at a less chaotic time .
“ I will fast those times when I ’ m not in the ICU , and I ’ ll have to see what happens if I do further shifts in the ICU , ” Salehmohamed told BuzzFeed News the day before Ramadan began .
“ There is always the flexibility .
If I ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ feeling weak , then I can discontinue the fast.
” Aminat Sarumi , a 28-year-old flight attendant who lives in Virginia , near Dulles International Airport in Washington , DC , told BuzzFeed News that Ramadan is so “ quiet ” this year due to the pandemic and she sometimes forgets it ’ s even happening .
“ Normally I have my routine — going to the mosque to pray each day , iftar with my friends — but this year , nothing , ” she said .
She is only in her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and usually she is only on reserve — meaning she is the backup crew in case a flight is severely delayed and the primary crew can ’ t make it .
But so many of her coworkers have been calling in sick and taking time off work , she ’ s been working nonstop .
“ Sometimes I ’ ll only have three people on the whole flight , but Thursday morning I had a red-eye from San Francisco to Dulles , and there were about 50 people on board , ” she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disapproval .
“ I don ’ t know why people are flying .
It boggles my brain .
If I weren ’ t a flight attendant , I wouldn ’ t be flying right now .
Honestly I wouldn ’ t be mad if I didn ’ t have a job right now.
” The red-eye was so busy , she said , she forgot she was fasting .
Suhoor — the predawn meal eaten during Ramadan to make the day ’ s fast easier — ends at 4:55 a.m. on the East @ @ @ @ @ @ @ flight , she ’ d forgotten she was supposed to fast that day until she saw her watch read 4:54 a.m. She was too late .
“ Then I accidentally took a swig of water , ” she said , sighing .
“ Not drinking water on a plane , it ’ s tough.
” On the flip side , several people who shared their stories with BuzzFeed News said they were concerned about being able to access the food they need to break fast , especially halal meats .
Panic shopping , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chain interruptions have caused stocking issues at grocery stores across the country .
For many Muslims in areas where Islam is not the predominant religion , access to halal meats ( “ halal ” meaning “ permissible ” ) can be limited even during typical circumstances .
A Philadelphia-based social worker named Deven told BuzzFeed News she is working with her local Islamic center to make “ grab-and-go iftars.
” Using gloves and masks , she and a few other volunteers package food made earlier in the day to hand out to those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ early evening .
In New York , ICNA Relief , a national aid group , is handing “ halal groceries ” out to families in 13 states every week .
Dr. Ramon Tallaj , chair of SOMOS Community Care , has been helping to provide food for Muslim families in Washington Heights .
Shah , the nurse practitioner in New York , however , has been biking miles to try to access halal meats — and when that ’ s not possible , he has been taking the subway to a neighborhood far @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be cognizant of my distance and being around in the subways , ” he told BuzzFeed News .
“ I haven ’ t had any luck finding halal meat in Manhattan , so I go to Astoria where I ’ m comfortable and I know where it is .
It ’ s risky , but it ’ s either that or don ’ t eat , so pick your poison.
” Shah only moved to New York in October 2019 .
Born in Afghanistan , he moved to Atlanta with his family in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with Times Square empty and restaurants closed , is not what he imagined the city would be like .
But he still loves it , he said .
When he was young he wanted to be a war journalist , so working in the emergency department in the center of a global pandemic feels aligned with his lifelong desire to be on the front lines .
“ Whenever there would be some sort of bombing or something , my 10-year-old self would make it there and try to analyze the situation , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ always wanted to be in the middle of things , so even though it ’ s so scary I ’ m glad to be here witnessing it and getting to understand it from the inside.
” Like most of the people who wrote to BuzzFeed News , Shah said he was greatly missing the community aspect of Ramadan .
His family is still in Atlanta , and he had just started to make friends in his new city via the Islamic Center at New York University .
He was looking forward to observing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that was cut short .
“ Every year it is an exciting time for my family , friends and community .
I 'm sad that this year we are n't able to be together like we are used to , ” Deven , the Philadelphia-based social worker , wrote .
She is still visiting people ’ s homes as part of her job and has to be very careful about her contact .
“ I feel like a part of me is missing , and I 'm worried how others are surviving.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a community health clinic in Seattle — the first city in the US hit hard by the coronavirus — has fortunately not had to isolate from her family .
The 24-year-old lives with her parents and four younger siblings ( “ It ’ s always loud , ” she said ) , and her father has been leading them in the daily prayer during Ramadan .
But she still misses her mosque youth group .
They ’ ve been meeting up via video chat to talk about Ramadan , God , and their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s not the same .
Everyone who spoke to BuzzFeed News said that not being able to celebrate Eid properly will be even worse .
The holiday often involves big gatherings and a lot of shared food , going all day and into the night .
Normally , Khedir ’ s family goes to a big congregation held at a local high school football field and then ( after her family ’ s traditional Eid nap ) spends the day hanging out with friends and eating barbeque in the park .
“ I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Khedir said .
“ We ’ re all trying to mentally prepare for not having a proper Eid , and I think we ’ ve all come to the conclusion that it might not happen , but that won ’ t make it any less sad.
” Some people have been trying to find workarounds ; breaking fast with friends and family over video chat , holding prayer meetings online .
One person told BuzzFeed News that they have put Ramadan decorations on a wall behind them for Zoom chats with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a video game developer based in the Netherlands , has been hosting iftars and suhoors nearly every night of Ramadan on Animal Crossing , a video game that has been getting many people through the pandemic .
Shah and Sarumi , the flight attendant in Virginia , both live far from their families and told BuzzFeed News they are taking the last week of May off and are still hoping to be able to fly home to visit their families for the holiday .
But nearly in the same breath , they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Even if most states begin to open up this month , it will be slow ; people who are regularly exposed to the virus , like them , will likely still be encouraged not to have close contact with older , more vulnerable family members .
“ Ramadan is a time of reflection where you ’ re supposed to be peaceful , kind , patient , honest .
I ’ m just praying for the goodness of the world , and I ’ m sure other Muslims are , too , ” Sarumi @ @ @ @ @ @ @ near the airport .
“ I ’ m not praying for things to return to normal , because we ’ re not gon na get back to what people thought was normal .
So I ’ m just praying for a leveling out of everything .
I ’ m sure Ramadan will bring that .
”

“I am looking forward to the calmness it brings,” Marwa Saeed, a family physician based in West Midlands, England, wrote to BuzzFeed News. “[I am] a bit apprehensive as it will be a unique Ramadhan, but hopeful that it will make us appreciate our blessings even more, and connect us more closely to our Creator.”
An 18-year-old in New York City who asked to remain anonymous wrote to BuzzFeed News that both Ramadan and obeying the stay-at-home orders are about patience and respect for others.
“Ramadan teaches all people about patience. We stay patient for Iftar, when we can break our fast. We also stay patient for Eid-ul-Fitr, the end of Ramadan, as it is a time of joy,” they wrote. “This is an important lesson for the quarantine that we are in. We need to stay hopeful, follow medical guidance and pray that our world and all of its beloved people heal.”
In March, the National Muslim Task Force issued a statement that urged Muslims in North America to follow local protocols for self-quarantine and social distancing and requested that congregational prayers be suspended. Islam has a specific guidance, or hadith, on plagues, which is pretty similar to the recommendations being given by governments during the pandemic: “If you hear of a plague in a land, then do not go into it,” the hadith reads. “If it happens in land where you are, then do not go out of it.”
As one of the Five Pillars of Islam, fasting is obligatory, but it does not apply to those for whom fasting would put their health at risk. The elderly, people who are immunocompromised, who are sick, and people who are pregnant are traditionally allowed not to fast. Those who can’t fast on certain days for other reasons (for example, people who are menstruating are not allowed to fast) can make up for those missed days by fasting later in the year.
In early April, a group of Muslim religious scholars in the UK signed a fatwa — a ruling on a point of Islamic law — giving Muslim medical workers permission to postpone fasting during the pandemic. Three medical workers told BuzzFeed News they plan to try to fast for Ramadan this year, but if they feel it is putting their health or their patients at risk, they may have to make up those days at a less chaotic time.
“I will fast those times when I’m not in the ICU, and I’ll have to see what happens if I do further shifts in the ICU,” Salehmohamed told BuzzFeed News the day before Ramadan began. “There is always the flexibility. If I’m in between and I’m feeling weak, then I can discontinue the fast.”
Aminat Sarumi, a 28-year-old flight attendant who lives in Virginia, near Dulles International Airport in Washington, DC, told BuzzFeed News that Ramadan is so “quiet” this year due to the pandemic and she sometimes forgets it’s even happening.
“Normally I have my routine — going to the mosque to pray each day, iftar with my friends — but this year, nothing,” she said.
She is only in her first year of being a flight attendant and usually she is only on reserve — meaning she is the backup crew in case a flight is severely delayed and the primary crew can’t make it. But so many of her coworkers have been calling in sick and taking time off work, she’s been working nonstop.
“Sometimes I’ll only have three people on the whole flight, but Thursday morning I had a red-eye from San Francisco to Dulles, and there were about 50 people on board,” she said emphatically, clicking her tongue in disapproval. “I don’t know why people are flying. It boggles my brain. If I weren’t a flight attendant, I wouldn’t be flying right now. Honestly I wouldn’t be mad if I didn’t have a job right now.”
The red-eye was so busy, she said, she forgot she was fasting. Suhoor — the predawn meal eaten during Ramadan to make the day’s fast easier — ends at 4:55 a.m. on the East Coast, she said. On that flight, she’d forgotten she was supposed to fast that day until she saw her watch read 4:54 a.m. She was too late.
“Then I accidentally took a swig of water,” she said, sighing. “Not drinking water on a plane, it’s tough.”
On the flip side, several people who shared their stories with BuzzFeed News said they were concerned about being able to access the food they need to break fast, especially halal meats. Panic shopping, hoarding, and food delivery and supply chain interruptions have caused stocking issues at grocery stores across the country. For many Muslims in areas where Islam is not the predominant religion, access to halal meats (“halal” meaning “permissible”) can be limited even during typical circumstances.


buzzfeed--2020-05-06--US Citizen Kids Of Undocumented Immigrants Sued The Trump Administration For Denying Them Coronaviru

US Citizen Kids Of Undocumented Immigrants Sued The Trump Administration For Denying Them Coronavirus Stimulus Checks

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WASHINGTON — US citizen kids whose parents are undocumented immigrants filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Tuesday challenging their exclusion from a coronavirus relief program that Congress intended to benefit children .
Under the Coronavirus Aid , Relief , and Economic Security , or CARES Act , eligible families can receive up to $ 500 for each child under 17 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ maximum payment available to individual adults .
But the Trump administration and Congress won ’ t pay out CARES Act money to undocumented immigrant parents for their US citizen children .
The children named as plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Maryland , using their initials , are between seven months and nine years old .
Their parents paid federal and state taxes , and would otherwise meet the income-based criteria for being eligible for relief funds , per court papers .
“ The refusal to distribute this benefit to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s goal of providing assistance to Americans in need , frustrates the Act ’ s efforts to jumpstart the economy , and punishes citizen children for their parents ’ status — punishment that is particularly nonsensical given that undocumented immigrants , collectively , pay billions of dollars each year in taxes , ” lawyers for the children and their families wrote in the complaint .

WASHINGTON — US citizen kids whose parents are undocumented immigrants filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Tuesday challenging their exclusion from a coronavirus relief program that Congress intended to benefit children.
Under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security, or CARES Act, eligible families can receive up to $500 for each child under 17, in addition to the $1,200 maximum payment available to individual adults.
But the Trump administration and Congress won’t pay out CARES Act money to undocumented immigrant parents for their US citizen children. The children named as plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Maryland, using their initials, are between seven months and nine years old. Their parents paid federal and state taxes, and would otherwise meet the income-based criteria for being eligible for relief funds, per court papers.
“The refusal to distribute this benefit to U.S. citizen children undermines the CARES Act’s goal of providing assistance to Americans in
need, frustrates the Act’s efforts to jumpstart the economy, and punishes
citizen children for their parents’ status — punishment that is particularly
nonsensical given that undocumented immigrants, collectively, pay billions of
dollars each year in taxes,” lawyers for the children and their families wrote in the complaint.