vox--2020-06-03--Women candidates won big in June primaries

The June 2 primaries were a major night for women candidates , so much so that in multiple House races in New Mexico , Indiana , and Iowa , voters will choose between two women candidates this fall .
Take New Mexico , where , according to primary results from Decision Desk , all the general election candidates for the state ’ s three House districts — on both sides of the aisle — are poised to be women .
On the Democratic side , Reps. Deb Haaland and Xochitl Torres Small will be defending their seats in the first @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chief of staff to the Attorney General Michelle Holmes and former state Rep. Yvette Herrell will be challenging them .
In the Third District , where the seat is currently open , Democrat and legal advocate Teresa Leger Fernandez could go up against Republican and engineer Alexis Johnson , though the race is still too close to call .
The candidates in Iowa ’ s Senate race , as well as two of the four House races , are all women , too .
Real estate developer Theresa Greenfield is challenging Sen. Joni @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the most closely-watched Senate contests this fall .
And incumbent US Rep. Abby Finkenauer will face off against current state Rep. Ashley Hinson , while former Democratic state Sen. Rita Hart and Republican state Sen. Mariannette Miller-Meeks will duke it out for an open seat in the Second District .
Rep. Cindy Axne will also be defending her seat in Iowa ’ s Third District against former Rep. David Young .
Indiana , too , will see a few congressional races in which women candidates are on both the Republican and Democratic tickets @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Democrat and attorney Patricia Hackett will take on Republican Rep. Jackie Walorski , and in the Fifth District , former Democratic state Rep. Christina Hale and Republican state Sen. Victoria Spartz are competing for Rep. Susan Brooks ’ s old seat .
At least 11 women candidates won primaries in Pennsylvania , Montana , Maryland , and Idaho as well .
Some races thus far have yet to be called .
These victories are notable because they indicate that the momentum for women candidates in 2018 is poised to continue yet again @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gender parity in Congress right now — women make up roughly 24 percent of legislators — additional gains for representation in 2020 could play an important role in continuing to change this breakdown .
The recent success that women have experienced in states across the country , including many battleground districts , also highlights how the success of women lawmakers has rapidly become normalized — even in places that hadn ’ t elected women to Congress until more recently .
Iowa , for example , hadn ’ t elected a woman to Congress @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the Senate , according to an analysis from Rutgers University ’ s Center for American Women and Politics .
The state also hadn ’ t elected women to the House until 2018 ; after this year ’ s election , three of the four House seats could be held by women .
Every day at Vox , we aim to answer your most important questions and provide you , and our audience around the world , with information that has the power to save lives .
Our mission has never been more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : to empower you through understanding .
Vox ’ s work is reaching more people than ever , but our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources — particularly during a pandemic and an economic downturn .
Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation , but it will enable our staff to continue to offer free articles , videos , and podcasts at the quality and volume that this moment requires .
Please consider making a contribution to Vox today .

The June 2 primaries were a major night for women candidates, so much so that in multiple House races in New Mexico, Indiana, and Iowa, voters will choose between two women candidates this fall.
Take New Mexico, where, according to primary results from Decision Desk, all the general election candidates for the state’s three House districts — on both sides of the aisle — are poised to be women.
On the Democratic side, Reps. Deb Haaland and Xochitl Torres Small will be defending their seats in the first and second congressional districts, where former chief of staff to the Attorney General Michelle Holmes and former state Rep. Yvette Herrell will be challenging them. In the Third District, where the seat is currently open, Democrat and legal advocate Teresa Leger Fernandez could go up against Republican and engineer Alexis Johnson, though the race is still too close to call.
The candidates in Iowa’s Senate race, as well as two of the four House races, are all women, too. Real estate developer Theresa Greenfield is challenging Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) in one of the most closely-watched Senate contests this fall. And incumbent US Rep. Abby Finkenauer will face off against current state Rep. Ashley Hinson, while former Democratic state Sen. Rita Hart and Republican state Sen. Mariannette Miller-Meeks will duke it out for an open seat in the Second District. Rep. Cindy Axne will also be defending her seat in Iowa’s Third District against former Rep. David Young.
Indiana, too, will see a few congressional races in which women candidates are on both the Republican and Democratic tickets. In Indiana’s Second District, Democrat and attorney Patricia Hackett will take on Republican Rep. Jackie Walorski, and in the Fifth District, former Democratic state Rep. Christina Hale and Republican state Sen. Victoria Spartz are competing for Rep. Susan Brooks’s old seat.
At least 11 women candidates won primaries in Pennsylvania, Montana, Maryland, and Idaho as well. Some races thus far have yet to be called.
These victories are notable because they indicate that the momentum for women candidates in 2018 is poised to continue yet again this year. Given the lack of gender parity in Congress right now — women make up roughly 24 percent of legislators — additional gains for representation in 2020 could play an important role in continuing to change this breakdown.
The recent success that women have experienced in states across the country, including many battleground districts, also highlights how the success of women lawmakers has rapidly become normalized — even in places that hadn’t elected women to Congress until more recently.
Iowa, for example, hadn’t elected a woman to Congress until 2014, when voters sent Ernst to the Senate, according to an analysis from Rutgers University’s Center for American Women and Politics. The state also hadn’t elected women to the House until 2018; after this year’s election, three of the four House seats could be held by women.


vox--2020-06-04--America needs to think more about the costs of policing

One way to understand how American policing became so dysfunctional : As a society , we have focused too much on the supposed benefits of strategies to reduce crime .
We haven ’ t focused enough on the costs and trade-offs — such as the harm to civil liberties , the psychological toll of aggressive policing in minority neighborhoods , and higher distrust in law enforcement .
Emily Owens , a University of California Irvine economist focused on policing , said that this is one of the core problems she ’ s seen in police departments and much of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ new policing strategy is proposed , the key question is if it will cut down on crime .
But there is little to no focus on the cost , whether to trust in the police , the impact on civil liberties , or in some cases even the actual financial expenses .
“ I could tell you if we did a policing policy that prevented one robbery , that saved society $ 90,000 .
I could tell you that .
And that ’ s great ; $ 90,000 is a lot of money @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But if we were to reduce that one robbery because we stopped every single black kid with a hooded sweatshirt on , that $ 90,000 reduction was almost certainly not worth it .
But I can ’ t give you a dollar value on the impact of that crazy devaluation of the lives of so many people.
” Imagine , for example , that a local police department implemented checkpoints in which officers stopped and searched every single person at every block of a city .
This would almost certainly , at least @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ; it would be much more difficult to do anything when police are literally stopping and frisking everyone at every block .
But would it be worth it ?
A lot of people certainly wouldn ’ t like the inconvenience and the violation of their civil liberties .
( Just think of how many react to security theater at airports . )
And it might only lead to less crime in the short run because eventually people would get fed up with what they see as a draconian system .
As people start @ @ @ @ @ @ @ become less willing to cooperate with it .
They may become less likely to report crimes — hurting police ’ s crime-fighting capabilities — and they may even protest , riot , or otherwise take the law into their own hands when they have a dispute with another person .
At least this hypothetical would apply to everyone equally .
But this is effectively what the US has asked black and brown communities to tolerate .
Whether it ’ s through policies like stop-and-frisk or aggressive sweeps of neighborhoods , police often target @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to excessive use of force and distrust in police as people see themselves , their friends , and their neighbors treated unequally .
If residents complain , officers assure them that they ’ re stopping crime by pointing to all the arrests they ’ ve made and the contraband they ’ ve seized .
The hassle to people ’ s lives and racial disparities in all the statistics , from arrests to use of force , are glossed over .
Owens , as well as other researchers ( including John Pfaff and Phillip @ @ @ @ @ @ @ happened on a mass scale , with police departments , policymakers , and researchers all failing to fully account for the costs of widely accepted American policing practices .
“ We have not generated a lot of research quantifying the costs of policing in the same way we have a huge amount of research quantifying the benefits of policing , ” Owens said .
This is bad for trust in police and , ultimately , bad for crime-fighting As the past week of protests against police brutality have made clear , the current @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not only fostered distrust toward police among minority communities , but there ’ s good reason to believe it ’ s making us all less safe in the long term .
The failure of police in these communities is twofold : The harassment generates backlash and distrust .
But so too does the police departments ’ inability to solve serious crimes — in some black and brown neighborhoods , the percent of murders that lead to an arrest can fall to the single digits .
As journalist Jill Leovy explained in Ghettoside , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ criminal justice system harasses people on small pretexts but is exposed as a coward before murder .
It hauls masses of black men through its machinery but fails to protect them from bodily injury and death .
It is at once oppressive and inadequate.
” It ’ s this dynamic of simultaneous overpolicing and underpolicing that ’ s led to so much distrust in the police in minority communities .
It leads many to believe that cops are not only harassing them , but also not even taking the time to protect them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ police are there for .
There could be cause-and-effect here : Maybe forcing police to focus so much on pettier or nonviolent crimes pulls their attention from the serious crimes , and maybe the harassment could make minority communities less likely to cooperate with police , which is a necessary component to solving crimes .
Or maybe this is driven by a genuine lack of interest among policymakers and police in the safety of black and brown communities .
Whatever the cause , the distrust this trend produces isn ’ t just bad @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bad for crime-fighting .
This is what ’ s known as “ legal cynicism ” : When people are less likely to trust the police and criminal justice system as a whole , they ’ re more likely to take the law into their own hands .
If there ’ s a shooting , and you don ’ t trust the police to do anything about it , perhaps you ’ ll act on it on your own .
“ When communities don ’ t trust the police and are afraid of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can not work with police and within the law around issues in their own community , ” David Kennedy , a criminologist at John Jay College , previously told me .
“ Then those issues within the community become issues the community needs to deal with on their own — and that leads to violence.
” To put it another way , a ham-fisted approach to policing can backfire and actually lead to more crime .
That ’ s on top of the harm done to black and brown communities who feel the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stops and arrests on a daily or hourly basis .
It ’ s these kinds of costs that need to be accounted for when developing policing strategies and evaluating their benefits .
But for too long , that hasn ’ t been done .
And now we ’ re seeing one of the costs with protests around the country about what many perceive as abusive and racist police practices .
For more on how to reform American police , read Vox ’ s explainer .
Every day at Vox , we aim to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you , and our audience around the world , with information that has the power to save lives .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
Vox ’ s work is reaching more people than ever , but our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources — particularly during a pandemic and an economic downturn .
Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation , but it will enable our staff to continue to offer free articles , videos , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that this moment requires .
Please consider making a contribution to Vox today .

One way to understand how American policing became so dysfunctional: As a society, we have focused too much on the supposed benefits of strategies to reduce crime.
We haven’t focused enough on the costs and trade-offs — such as the harm to civil liberties, the psychological toll of aggressive policing in minority neighborhoods, and higher distrust in law enforcement.
Emily Owens, a University of California Irvine economist focused on policing, said that this is one of the core problems she’s seen in police departments and much of the quantitative research around policing. When a new policing strategy is proposed, the key question is if it will cut down on crime.
But there is little to no focus on the cost, whether to trust in the police, the impact on civil liberties, or in some cases even the actual financial expenses.
“I could tell you if we did a policing policy that prevented one robbery, that saved society $90,000. I could tell you that. And that’s great; $90,000 is a lot of money,” Owens told me. “But if we were to reduce that one robbery because we stopped every single black kid with a hooded sweatshirt on, that $90,000 reduction was almost certainly not worth it. But I can’t give you a dollar value on the impact of that crazy devaluation of the lives of so many people.”
Imagine, for example, that a local police department implemented checkpoints in which officers stopped and searched every single person at every block of a city. This would almost certainly, at least in the short term, reduce crime; it would be much more difficult to do anything when police are literally stopping and frisking everyone at every block.
But would it be worth it? A lot of people certainly wouldn’t like the inconvenience and the violation of their civil liberties. (Just think of how many react to security theater at airports.)
And it might only lead to less crime in the short run because eventually people would get fed up with what they see as a draconian system. As people start to distrust that system, they may become less willing to cooperate with it. They may become less likely to report crimes — hurting police’s crime-fighting capabilities — and they may even protest, riot, or otherwise take the law into their own hands when they have a dispute with another person.
At least this hypothetical would apply to everyone equally. But this is effectively what the US has asked black and brown communities to tolerate. Whether it’s through policies like stop-and-frisk or aggressive sweeps of neighborhoods, police often target minority communities with dragnet strategies — leading to excessive use of force and distrust in police as people see themselves, their friends, and their neighbors treated unequally. If residents complain, officers assure them that they’re stopping crime by pointing to all the arrests they’ve made and the contraband they’ve seized. The hassle to people’s lives and racial disparities in all the statistics, from arrests to use of force, are glossed over.
Owens, as well as other researchers (including John Pfaff and Phillip Atiba Goff), argue this has happened on a mass scale, with police departments, policymakers, and researchers all failing to fully account for the costs of widely accepted American policing practices.
“We have not generated a lot of research quantifying the costs of policing in the same way we have a huge amount of research quantifying the benefits of policing,” Owens said.
This is bad for trust in police and, ultimately, bad for crime-fighting
As the past week of protests against police brutality have made clear, the current approach is not working. It has not only fostered distrust toward police among minority communities, but there’s good reason to believe it’s making us all less safe in the long term.
The failure of police in these communities is twofold: The harassment generates backlash and distrust. But so, too, does the police departments’ inability to solve serious crimes — in some black and brown neighborhoods, the percent of murders that lead to an arrest can fall to the single digits.
As journalist Jill Leovy explained in Ghettoside, “Like the schoolyard bully, our criminal justice system harasses people on small pretexts but is exposed as a coward before murder. It hauls masses of black men through its machinery but fails to protect them from bodily injury and death. It is at once oppressive and inadequate.”
It’s this dynamic of simultaneous overpolicing and underpolicing that’s led to so much distrust in the police in minority communities. It leads many to believe that cops are not only harassing them, but also not even taking the time to protect them — to do the job that the police are there for.
There could be cause-and-effect here: Maybe forcing police to focus so much on pettier or nonviolent crimes pulls their attention from the serious crimes, and maybe the harassment could make minority communities less likely to cooperate with police, which is a necessary component to solving crimes.
Or maybe this is driven by a genuine lack of interest among policymakers and police in the safety of black and brown communities.
Whatever the cause, the distrust this trend produces isn’t just bad for police-community relations, it’s bad for crime-fighting. This is what’s known as “legal cynicism”: When people are less likely to trust the police and criminal justice system as a whole, they’re more likely to take the law into their own hands. If there’s a shooting, and you don’t trust the police to do anything about it, perhaps you’ll act on it on your own.
“When communities don’t trust the police and are afraid of the police, then they will not and cannot work with police and within the law around issues in their own community,” David Kennedy, a criminologist at John Jay College, previously told me. “Then those issues within the community become issues the community needs to deal with on their own — and that leads to violence.”
To put it another way, a ham-fisted approach to policing can backfire and actually lead to more crime. That’s on top of the harm done to black and brown communities who feel the physical and psychological toll of aggressive police stops and arrests on a daily or hourly basis.
It’s these kinds of costs that need to be accounted for when developing policing strategies and evaluating their benefits. But for too long, that hasn’t been done. And now we’re seeing one of the costs with protests around the country about what many perceive as abusive and racist police practices.
For more on how to reform police in America, read Vox’s explainer.


vox--2020-06-04--How South Korea, France, and Italy are using the Covid-19 response to fight climate change

The United States has now put out several relief packages to deal with the economic impacts of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic , and lawmakers are considering even more .
But a glaring hole in these economic stimulus proposals is aggressive new climate policies and targets , which are desperately needed as that crisis accelerates .
Democrats have some environmental stimulus proposals under consideration , like $ 550 billion for clean transportation investment .
Yet at the same time , some Republican lawmakers are also pushing for bailouts of the fossil fuel industry .
In the past few months , however @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in other parts of the world have already shown that even while fighting off a deadly virus , they can take steps to mitigate the other massive catastrophe of climate change .
With clear roads , clear skies , oil prices plummeting , businesses needing bailouts , and political capital to spend , countries like South Korea , Italy , and France have decided that the pandemic response is an opportunity to rethink energy , infrastructure , industry , and government in ways to cut pollution and reduce emissions contributing to climate change @ @ @ @ @ @ @ poised to decline this year by a record 8 percent in large part due to the global response to the coronavirus .
Many cities have also seen major declines in air pollution .
But these gains are fragile , and emissions and pollution could easily spike again as economies recover .
Keeping the incidental environmental improvements from the pandemic , then , requires deliberate decisions to protect gains even after the virus fades away .
Here are some of the ways people have used the crisis and the opportunity of the pandemic to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for carbon-heavy industries , and build clean energy infrastructure .
South Korea ’ s Democratic Party is using its new leverage to advance a Green New Deal South Korea has been hailed around the world for its response to Covid-19 , with a massive national effort to test people for the virus , trace their contacts , and control the spread of the disease .
So it wasn ’ t too surprising that South Korean President Moon Jae-in ’ s ruling Democratic Party of Korea won a landslide victory in the national legislature @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a vote of confidence for his handling of the Covid-19 outbreak in the country .
The party is now aiming to leverage that political capital to implement a Green New Deal for the country , first revealed in March .
While it borrows the branding from the Green New Deal proposals in the United States , South Korea ’ s version is more similar to the European Commission ’ s European Green Deal approved last year .
The plan would make South Korea the first East Asian country to commit to reaching net-zero @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
South Korea is the seventh-largest greenhouse gas emitter in the world .
To meet this goal , South Korea would implement a carbon tax , increase investment in renewable energy , and end public financing for fossil fuel projects domestically and abroad .
The proposal also calls for retraining workers who may be affected by the transition toward cleaner energy .
South Korea ’ s Green New Deal still has to be legislated and signed into law , and it may face strong opposition from some business and industrial interests .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ country signing onto an ambitious climate agenda .
Prior to the pandemic , countries like Austria and Spain had also seen election victories for parties campaigning on a Green New Deal .
But as the last South Korean election and recent polls in the country showed , Moon has widespread support for his climate agenda .
And South Korea still stands out for sticking to its climate agenda during a global health crisis .
Cities around the world are using clear streets to improve clean transit infrastructure With fewer people driving and more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as part of reducing the transmission of the coronavirus , some cities have begun to change how they allocate precious street and sidewalk space .
After the lockdowns began to relax , city officials in Milan , Italy , announced that they would modify 22 miles of roads to make more room for pedestrians and bicycles .
Milan transport councilor Marco Granelli explained that the city wanted alternatives to car traffic and to public transit that would allow people to move around while staying apart .
“ To avoid having another million cars @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to upgrade the two-wheel [ infrastructure ] , ” he told Radio Lombardy in April .
“ This is why we are putting in place an extraordinary action to create cycle paths.
” Berlin , Germany , also capitalized on the reduced car traffic from a sudden surge in people working from home during the pandemic with 14-miles and more of pop-up bike lanes .
Residents in more than 100 other German cities have applied to add more bike lanes during the pandemic .
Cities like Paris , Athens , Bogotá , Philadelphia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for bikes .
In most of these cities , some of the new lanes are temporary and some are permanent , with city officials hoping to figure out just how much their citizens will avail themselves of the new real estate .
Transportation is one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the world , accounting for almost a quarter of all emissions from burning fossil fuels .
It ’ s also the fastest-growing source of carbon dioxide .
Vehicles are a major source of urban pollution as well .
So @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cities have short- and long-term environmental benefits .
Governments in Europe have used their leverage with bailouts to extract stronger climate commitments from companies The economic crisis stemming from the coronavirus pandemic has forced some businesses to ask for government help .
The aviation industry is a case in point .
The collapse of international air travel during the outbreak has forced airlines to seek government bailouts .
But in some countries , those bailouts came with climate change targets .
The global aviation industry causes between 2 and 5 percent of human-induced @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the pandemic , the sector was poised to grow rapidly .
That ’ s why some governments want to limit emissions from air travel .
For instance , the $ 10.8 billion bailout package for Air France-KLM included provisions that Air France must end short routes that compete with train routes .
Train travel emits far fewer greenhouse gas emissions than flying over these short routes .
The airline will also have to cut its emissions per passenger in half relative to 2005 by 2050 .
“ I want to reiterate that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a blank cheque , ” Bruno Le Maire , France ’ s economy and finance minister , told a National Assembly committee in April .
Austria also imposed sustainability requirements for its $ 856 million rescue package for Austrian Airlines .
Germany , however , flinched at the idea of imposing new climate targets on its national air carrier , Lufthansa , with its $ 9.9 billion bailout .
Meanwhile , airlines around the world are retiring some of their oldest , largest , and thirstiest aircraft because of reduced demand .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , smaller , and more fuel-efficient .
Still , demand for flights is poised to grow over the long term , and aviation remains one of the toughest sectors of the economy to decarbonize .
It will take more research , investment , and policy to ensure these changes endure and for emissions to decline further .
Every day at Vox , we aim to answer your most important questions and provide you , and our audience around the world , with information that has the power to save lives .
Our mission @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
Vox ’ s work is reaching more people than ever , but our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources — particularly during a pandemic and an economic downturn .
Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation , but it will enable our staff to continue to offer free articles , videos , and podcasts at the quality and volume that this moment requires .
Please consider making a contribution to Vox today .

The United States has now put out several relief packages to deal with the economic impacts of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, and lawmakers are considering even more.
But a glaring hole in these economic stimulus proposals is aggressive new climate policies and targets, which are desperately needed as that crisis accelerates.
Democrats have some environmental stimulus proposals under consideration, like $550 billion for clean transportation investment. Yet at the same time, some Republican lawmakers are also pushing for bailouts of the fossil fuel industry.
In the past few months, however, cities, businesses, and governments in other parts of the world have already shown that even while fighting off a deadly virus, they can take steps to mitigate the other massive catastrophe of climate change.
With clear roads, clear skies, oil prices plummeting, businesses needing bailouts, and political capital to spend, countries like South Korea, Italy, and France have decided that the pandemic response is an opportunity to rethink energy, infrastructure, industry, and government in ways to cut pollution and reduce emissions contributing to climate change.
The #EUGreenDeal offers a chance to transform our societies and our planet for the better. We need a strong economic and recovery model that gives back to our planet more than it takes away from it. (1/3) pic.twitter.com/nCFbAiqbFB — Ursula von der Leyen #UnitedAgainstCoronavirus (@vonderleyen) May 20, 2020
Writing in the Guardian on June 5, several former and current central bankers — including, Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England, and François Villeroy de Galhau, governor of Banque de France — said it’s critical that countries launch a green recovery from the pandemic.
“This crisis offers us a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to rebuild our economy in order to withstand the next shock coming our way: climate breakdown,” they wrote. “Unless we act now, the climate crisis will be tomorrow’s central scenario and, unlike Covid-19, no one will be able to self-isolate from it.”
Globally, greenhouse gas emissions are poised to decline this year by a record 8 percent in large part due to the global response to the coronavirus. Many cities have also seen major declines in air pollution. But these gains are fragile, and emissions and pollution could easily spike again as economies recover. Keeping the incidental environmental improvements from the pandemic, then, requires deliberate decisions to protect gains even after the virus fades away.
Here are some of the ways people have used the crisis and the opportunity of the pandemic to enact climate policies, set ambitious goals for carbon-heavy industries, and build clean energy infrastructure.
South Korea’s Democratic Party is using its new leverage to advance a Green New Deal
South Korea has been hailed around the world for its response to Covid-19, with a massive national effort to test people for the virus, trace their contacts, and control the spread of the disease.
So it wasn’t too surprising that South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s ruling Democratic Party of Korea won a landslide victory in the national legislature elections in April. The result was a vote of confidence for his handling of the Covid-19 outbreak in the country.
The party is now aiming to leverage that political capital to implement a Green New Deal for the country, first revealed in March. While it borrows the branding from the Green New Deal proposals in the United States, South Korea’s version is more similar to the European Commission’s European Green Deal approved last year. The plan would make South Korea the first East Asian country to commit to reaching net-zero emissions by the middle of the century. South Korea is the seventh-largest greenhouse gas emitter in the world.
To meet this goal, South Korea would implement a carbon tax, increase investment in renewable energy, and end public financing for fossil fuel projects domestically and abroad. The proposal also calls for retraining workers who may be affected by the transition toward cleaner energy.
South Korea’s Green New Deal still has to be legislated and signed into law, and it may face strong opposition from some business and industrial interests. And South Korea isn’t the only country signing onto an ambitious climate agenda. Prior to the pandemic, countries like Austria and Spain had also seen election victories for parties campaigning on a Green New Deal.
But as the last South Korean election and recent polls in the country showed, Moon has widespread support for his climate agenda. And South Korea still stands out for sticking to its climate agenda during a global health crisis.
Cities around the world are using clear streets to improve clean transit infrastructure
With fewer people driving and more people needing to walk at a distance as part of reducing the transmission of the coronavirus, some cities have begun to change how they allocate precious street and sidewalk space.
After the lockdowns began to relax, city officials in Milan, Italy, announced that they would modify 22 miles of roads to make more room for pedestrians and bicycles. Milan transport councilor Marco Granelli explained that the city wanted alternatives to car traffic and to public transit that would allow people to move around while staying apart.
“To avoid having another million cars on the streets, we will have to upgrade the two-wheel [infrastructure],” he told Radio Lombardy in April. “This is why we are putting in place an extraordinary action to create cycle paths.”
Live, from Milan.
The immediate transformation of the city begins.
If not now, when?
From @demescope pic.twitter.com/Udqp7iRoNc — Jennifer Keesmaat (@jen_keesmaat) April 30, 2020
Berlin, Germany, also capitalized on the reduced car traffic from a sudden surge in people working from home during the pandemic with 14-miles and more of pop-up bike lanes. Residents in more than 100 other German cities have applied to add more bike lanes during the pandemic.
Cities like Paris, Athens, Bogotá, Philadelphia, and Denver have also expanded infrastructure for bikes. In most of these cities, some of the new lanes are temporary and some are permanent, with city officials hoping to figure out just how much their citizens will avail themselves of the new real estate.
Transportation is one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the world, accounting for almost a quarter of all emissions from burning fossil fuels. It’s also the fastest-growing source of carbon dioxide. Vehicles are a major source of urban pollution as well. So steps to offer alternatives to cars in cities have short- and long-term environmental benefits.
Governments in Europe have used their leverage with bailouts to extract stronger climate commitments from companies
The economic crisis stemming from the coronavirus pandemic has forced some businesses to ask for government help. The aviation industry is a case in point. The collapse of international air travel during the outbreak has forced airlines to seek government bailouts.
But in some countries, those bailouts came with climate change targets. The global aviation industry causes between 2 and 5 percent of human-induced warming on the planet, and prior to the pandemic, the sector was poised to grow rapidly. That’s why some governments want to limit emissions from air travel.
For instance, the $10.8 billion bailout package for Air France-KLM included provisions that Air France must end short routes that compete with train routes. Train travel emits far fewer greenhouse gas emissions than flying over these short routes. The airline will also have to cut its emissions per passenger in half relative to 2005 by 2050.
“I want to reiterate that this support for Air France is not a blank cheque,” Bruno Le Maire, France’s economy and finance minister, told a National Assembly committee in April.
Austria also imposed sustainability requirements for its $856 million rescue package for Austrian Airlines.
Germany, however, flinched at the idea of imposing new climate targets on its national air carrier, Lufthansa, with its $9.9 billion bailout.
Meanwhile, airlines around the world are retiring some of their oldest, largest, and thirstiest aircraft because of reduced demand. The remaining aircraft in their fleets are newer, smaller, and more fuel-efficient.
Still, demand for flights is poised to grow over the long term, and aviation remains one of the toughest sectors of the economy to decarbonize. It will take more research, investment, and policy to ensure these changes endure and for emissions to decline further.


vox--2020-06-04--He signed up to DJ on a cruise ship. Then coronavirus struck.

The remnants of Caio Saldanha ’ s past life are fossilized on his Instagram feed .
In December , the Brazilian DJ uploaded a video of a deliriously packed cruise ship floating on the rippling Atlantic ocean .
But since then , that euphoria has been set aside .
Instead , Saldanha , who has worked a number of different cruise dates in his career , posts a few Instagram stories a week detailing the two months he has been trapped at sea .
The Trump administration issued a no-sail mandate on all boating on March 13 , the day @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1,000-foot Celebrity Infinity ship for a 24-week stay .
That left him , and more than 100,000 other crew members across ships , in virtual limbo .
The crew of the Infinity bobs alone on the outskirts of Tampa Bay , waiting for their bosses to repatriate them back to their home countries .
For now , Saldanha , and his fiance who ’ s aboard with him , are powerless .
The specifics of the mess the cruise industry finds itself in are laughably arcane , but it broadly boils down to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Miami Herald reports , cruise companies only expected to be shuttered for a month after the March 13 decision , which meant that they kept most of their crew at their post to resume operations after the expiration date .
But in April , the U.S. government extended that no-sail order to late July .
The CDC is allowing crew members to disembark from these ships , as long as cruise companies eat the bill for the private transportation of their employees back to their home countries .
Executives have balked at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ too expensive , ” and many of those CEOs have drawn up plans to avoid the cost by working at the fringes of legality .
Case in point : The last Saldanha heard , his ship will be headed to Barbados on May 27 .
From there , he ’ ll fly to Brazil to avoid American guidelines .
( After this interview , Saldanha confirmed that he is back home as of June 3 . )
Meanwhile , the human toll on these cruise ships swells by the day .
There @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crew members , including a 39-year old Ukranian woman who went overboard on a Carnival vessel .
Some have been condemned to windowless on-board residencies , or have been living under strict coronavirus lockdowns .
15 members of a Royal Caribbean crew went on a hunger strike in early May , but that matter has allegedly been “ resolved.
” Saldanha himself is in contact with many of his colleagues trapped on other boats , which is all he can do to put pressure on his superiors to get them on dry land @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his time by watching movies , playing video games , and speaking to the press .
We talked about the injustice of the industry , how Chomsky is informing his activism , and how after a while , even the beauty of an Atlantic sunset can begin to feel like a prison .
When you first signed up to go DJ on some cruises , were you aware that the coronavirus was out there ?
Or did you not pay much attention to it ?
Before we embarked , we thought about the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ information from the company before , but when we came to the US we saw Donald Trump on TV talking about the cruise ships , and how they were a dangerous environment , and the no-sail order .
We got back to the company , and said , “ Will we embark ?
” And they said that everything is fine .
We embarked on March 14 , and we got the message that we ’ ll be sailing to Tampa Bay , and that we didn ’ t have any information about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ future .
That was the first day .
It was very complicated .
They disembarked all the passengers , and they kept all the crew members on the ship until further notice .
It was hard to understand the situation .
What was that messaging like ?
Did they just say that you ’ d be stuck on the boat for a short period of time ?
Or did you know it was going to be months from the beginning ?
They told us it was going to be at least 14 days @ @ @ @ @ @ @ kind of measure to avoid Covid-19 on the ship .
There were no measures before quarantine to avoid the threat of the virus .
“ We didn ’ t have any kind of measure to avoid Covid-19 on the ship ” You don ’ t have any coronavirus cases , right ?
We don ’ t have any cases here as far as I know .
But we are aware that we might be exposed to the virus .
That ’ s not good at all .
Especially as a couple , if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gets sick , we would be separated .
It makes us really stressed , and really afraid .
You ’ d be sick and alone .
People are just now seeing headlines that 100,000 people are still stuck at sea , do you feel forgotten at all ?
Yes , that ’ s the feeling .
This industry is focused on passengers .
Nobody thinks about the crew members .
This industry is focused on keeping a good image for the public and the service , and they forget about the workers .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ caught in the middle of a bureaucratic mess ?
After a story from the Miami Herald , where Royal Caribbean said that this was a financial issue , and it was too expensive to do as the CDC wanted to do for repatriation , I don ’ t think that it ’ s a bureaucracy problem .
It ’ s a crime .
It ’ s a crime that this company is practicing .
They ’ re sending us to Barbados .
We ’ re arriving there tomorrow , and they ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
I can interpret that as a way to avoid the measures that the CDC has laid out .
It ’ s a big cartel .
They ’ re trying to avoid doing the right thing , and care about us .
You post stories on Instagram where you ’ ve documented nearly every day you ’ ve been trapped at sea .
What ’ s it been like keeping your social media updated , and keeping friends and family tuned in on your plight ?
Yeah , I stopped posting photos on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ m just giving information to people who follow me to try to expose what ’ s going on .
I ’ ve stopped every bit of social media as a DJ — the stuff we do to get an audience , or work when we ’ re on land .
I ’ m exposing my situation .
I ’ m trying to help .
A lot of people are in silence right now .
So I ’ m using my social media to make it a journal , or a channel , for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be a source in the middle of this .
As you mentioned , there are thousands of people stuck on cruise ships right now .
Have you been communicating with anyone else on other boats ?
Yeah it ’ s interesting .
I ’ m in contact with an Argentinian girl who works on Royal Caribbean .
She was repatriated two days ago .
We ’ ve got someone on the ship who ’ s the music director , and he and his girlfriend went through so much worse than us .
For @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crew cabin with no windows .
We ’ re sharing everything .
People on other ships are reaching [ out to ] me .
We ’ re developing a network of people who are thinking the same way .
Are you on lockdown ?
We have good treatment right now .
We have a guest cabin , we have a balcony , and we can go anywhere until midnight .
That ’ s not a problem , we ’ re not gon na be outside the cabin that late .
What allows you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on a cruise ship for two months ?
What ’ s been an escape ?
We are watching a lot of movies .
We are watching videos on YouTube .
We ’ re trying to learn more about financing , because we will need to be prepared , back on land , to face a new reality as far as work goes .
We ’ re going to need to change our jobs .
We can ’ t work here anymore .
We ’ re playing games , we have things to read @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and we go outside and watch the ocean .
We aren ’ t always stressed .
Are there ever any moments , where you ’ re looking at the ocean , that you ’ re like , “ You know , this really sucks , but at least there ’ s a nice view.
” You know , when you ’ ve been stuck at sea this long , you don ’ t see it as beautiful .
The sea is a jail , it ’ s oppressive .
It ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the sea goes away .
When you ’ re so exposed to the same view , you get desensitized .
“ When you ’ ve been stuck at sea this long , you don ’ t see it as beautiful.
” Are you still making an income right now ?
Is the cruise company still paying you ?
They said to us that they ’ d stop paying us in full on April 25 .
That was the last payment .
Then they started giving us $ 13 a day until it reached @ @ @ @ @ @ @ weeks , we didn ’ t get any money from that .
We didn ’ t reach $ 400 .
I really don ’ t know what ’ s going on right now .
[ Saldanha has since received the full $ 400 . ]
Are you thinking about going to court ?
I had an offer for a class-action lawsuit .
I contacted the lawyers .
I ’ m still reading and studying it .
I don ’ t like to sign anything before I ’ m sure about it .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We feel like our psychological integrity is not preserved .
Have you always been an activist ?
Have you always been vocal about worker injustices ?
Or did this experience spark that inside of you ?
This was always a concern for me , but I never spoke about it .
I read a lot of books that are important to our knowledge as a worker .
I read Marx , Adam Smith , Foucault , all of the economic thinking that is related to philosophy .
So I do a lot of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a situation where I see those kinds of injustices grip a whole industry , I started to speak up .
It makes me think about my reading of Noam Chomsky , about profit over people , and neoliberal thinking .
My readings have made me an activist , I think .
When you ’ re back in Brazil and hopefully this pandemic is finally over , what ’ s the first thing you ’ re going to do ?
I will get married to my fiance .
And also , we ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s what we want to do so bad .
We miss the animals .
Every day at Vox , we aim to answer your most important questions and provide you , and our audience around the world , with information that has the power to save lives .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
Vox ’ s work is reaching more people than ever , but our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources — particularly during a pandemic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ contribution will not constitute a donation , but it will enable our staff to continue to offer free articles , videos , and podcasts at the quality and volume that this moment requires .
Please consider making a contribution to Vox today .

The remnants of Caio Saldanha’s past life are fossilized on his Instagram feed. In December, the Brazilian DJ uploaded a video of a deliriously packed cruise ship floating on the rippling Atlantic ocean. But since then, that euphoria has been set aside. Instead, Saldanha, who has worked a number of different cruise dates in his career, posts a few Instagram stories a week detailing the two months he has been trapped at sea.
The Trump administration issued a no-sail mandate on all boating on March 13, the day before Saldanha launched on Celebrity Cruises’ 1,000-foot Celebrity Infinity ship for a 24-week stay. That left him, and more than 100,000 other crew members across ships, in virtual limbo. The crew of the Infinity bobs alone on the outskirts of Tampa Bay, waiting for their bosses to repatriate them back to their home countries. For now, Saldanha, and his fiance who’s aboard with him, are powerless.
The specifics of the mess the cruise industry finds itself in are laughably arcane, but it broadly boils down to a dispute with the CDC. As the Miami Herald reports, cruise companies only expected to be shuttered for a month after the March 13 decision, which meant that they kept most of their crew at their post to resume operations after the expiration date. But in April, the U.S. government extended that no-sail order to late July.
The CDC is allowing crew members to disembark from these ships, as long as cruise companies eat the bill for the private transportation of their employees back to their home countries. Executives have balked at those offers, calling the chartering overhead “too expensive,” and many of those CEOs have drawn up plans to avoid the cost by working at the fringes of legality. Case in point: The last Saldanha heard, his ship will be headed to Barbados on May 27. From there, he’ll fly to Brazil to avoid American guidelines. (After this interview, Saldanha confirmed that he is back home as of June 3.)
Meanwhile, the human toll on these cruise ships swells by the day. There have been multiple suicides reported among trapped crew members, including a 39-year old Ukranian woman who went overboard on a Carnival vessel. Some have been condemned to windowless on-board residencies, or have been living under strict coronavirus lockdowns. 15 members of a Royal Caribbean crew went on a hunger strike in early May, but that matter has allegedly been “resolved.”
Saldanha himself is in contact with many of his colleagues trapped on other boats, which is all he can do to put pressure on his superiors to get them on dry land again. For now, Saldanha bides his time by watching movies, playing video games, and speaking to the press. We talked about the injustice of the industry, how Chomsky is informing his activism, and how after a while, even the beauty of an Atlantic sunset can begin to feel like a prison.
When you first signed up to go DJ on some cruises, were you aware that the coronavirus was out there? Or did you not pay much attention to it?
Before we embarked, we thought about the pandemic. We didn’t get information from the company before, but when we came to the US we saw Donald Trump on TV talking about the cruise ships, and how they were a dangerous environment, and the no-sail order. We got back to the company, and said, “Will we embark?” And they said that everything is fine. We embarked on March 14, and we got the message that we’ll be sailing to Tampa Bay, and that we didn’t have any information about what was going to happen in the future. That was the first day. It was very complicated.
They disembarked all the passengers, and they kept all the crew members on the ship until further notice. It was hard to understand the situation.
What was that messaging like? Did they just say that you’d be stuck on the boat for a short period of time? Or did you know it was going to be months from the beginning?
They told us it was going to be at least 14 days. We didn’t have any kind of measure to avoid Covid-19 on the ship. There were no measures before quarantine to avoid the threat of the virus.
“We didn’t have any kind of measure to avoid Covid-19 on the ship”
You don’t have any coronavirus cases, right?
We don’t have any cases here as far as I know. But we are aware that we might be exposed to the virus. That’s not good at all. Especially as a couple, if I get sick, or my fiance gets sick, we would be separated. It makes us really stressed, and really afraid. You’d be sick and alone.
People are just now seeing headlines that 100,000 people are still stuck at sea, do you feel forgotten at all?
Yes, that’s the feeling. This industry is focused on passengers. Nobody thinks about the crew members. This industry is focused on keeping a good image for the public and the service, and they forget about the workers.
Does it feel like you’re caught in the middle of a bureaucratic mess?
After a story from the Miami Herald, where Royal Caribbean said that this was a financial issue, and it was too expensive to do as the CDC wanted to do for repatriation, I don’t think that it’s a bureaucracy problem. It’s a crime. It’s a crime that this company is practicing. They’re sending us to Barbados. We’re arriving there tomorrow, and they’re going to fly us home May 27. I can interpret that as a way to avoid the measures that the CDC has laid out. It’s a big cartel. They’re trying to avoid doing the right thing, and care about us.
You post stories on Instagram where you’ve documented nearly every day you’ve been trapped at sea. What’s it been like keeping your social media updated, and keeping friends and family tuned in on your plight?
Yeah, I stopped posting photos on Instagram about my job. I’m just giving information to people who follow me to try to expose what’s going on. I’ve stopped every bit of social media as a DJ — the stuff we do to get an audience, or work when we’re on land.
I’m exposing my situation. I’m trying to help. A lot of people are in silence right now. So I’m using my social media to make it a journal, or a channel, for everybody to see. I want to be a source in the middle of this.
As you mentioned, there are thousands of people stuck on cruise ships right now. Have you been communicating with anyone else on other boats?
Yeah it’s interesting. I’m in contact with an Argentinian girl who works on Royal Caribbean. She was repatriated two days ago. We’ve got someone on the ship who’s the music director, and he and his girlfriend went through so much worse than us. For five days, they were in a crew cabin with no windows. We’re sharing everything. People on other ships are reaching [out to] me. We’re developing a network of people who are thinking the same way.
Are you on lockdown?
We have good treatment right now. We have a guest cabin, we have a balcony, and we can go anywhere until midnight. That’s not a problem, we’re not gonna be outside the cabin that late.
What allows you to forget that you’ve been on a cruise ship for two months? What’s been an escape?
We are watching a lot of movies. We are watching videos on YouTube. We’re trying to learn more about financing, because we will need to be prepared, back on land, to face a new reality as far as work goes. We’re going to need to change our jobs. We can’t work here anymore. We’re playing games, we have things to read, we’re passing our time, and we go outside and watch the ocean. We aren’t always stressed.
Are there ever any moments, where you’re looking at the ocean, that you’re like, “You know, this really sucks, but at least there’s a nice view.”
You know, when you’ve been stuck at sea this long, you don’t see it as beautiful. The sea is a jail, it’s oppressive. It’s so beautiful, but the meaning of the sea goes away. When you’re so exposed to the same view, you get desensitized.
“When you’ve been stuck at sea this long, you don’t see it as beautiful.”
Are you still making an income right now? Is the cruise company still paying you?
They said to us that they’d stop paying us in full on April 25. That was the last payment. Then they started giving us $13 a day until it reached $400. But for a few weeks, we didn’t get any money from that. We didn’t reach $400. I really don’t know what’s going on right now. [Saldanha has since received the full $400.]
Are you thinking about going to court?
I had an offer for a class-action lawsuit. I contacted the lawyers. I’m still reading and studying it. I don’t like to sign anything before I’m sure about it. But the psychological damage is already here. We feel like our psychological integrity is not preserved.
Have you always been an activist? Have you always been vocal about worker injustices? Or did this experience spark that inside of you?
This was always a concern for me, but I never spoke about it. I read a lot of books that are important to our knowledge as a worker. I read Marx, Adam Smith, Foucault, all of the economic thinking that is related to philosophy. So I do a lot of reading. And now I’m in a situation where I see those kinds of injustices grip a whole industry, I started to speak up. It makes me think about my reading of Noam Chomsky, about profit over people, and neoliberal thinking. My readings have made me an activist, I think.
When you’re back in Brazil and hopefully this pandemic is finally over, what’s the first thing you’re going to do?
I will get married to my fiance. And also, we’ll walk our dog. That’s what we want to do so bad. We miss the animals.


vox--2020-06-04--A Silicon Valley fundraiser for Joe Biden raised $4 million in one Zoom call

A small group of billionaires and other elite Silicon Valley donors on Thursday threw Joe Biden a fundraiser — over a video conference link with no wining and dining or schmooze time .
And it ended up being what is believed to be his biggest fundraiser of the entire campaign .
It was a peculiar event , even for today ’ s big-money era of presidential politics .
Just 25 donors pitched in a total of $ 4 million for the presumptive Democratic nominee and the Democratic Party as a whole .
Simple math shows that an average of $ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ return for just about 20 minutes with Biden over Zoom .
There were also two questions from the audience as well as a “ virtual photo op ” with those who paid top dollar .
That haul was undeniably possible because of the lead donors ’ bank accounts .
The principal host was Tom Steyer , the San Francisco billionaire who ran for president himself before returning to his typical role in Democratic politics as one of his party ’ s very biggest contributors .
Other hosts included climate activist Nicole Systrom , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ; and Silicon Valley power couple Swati Mylavarapu , the former finance chair for Pete Buttigieg ’ s campaign , and her husband Matt Rogers , the co-founder of Nest .
Perhaps more than any other fundraiser during the entire campaign , the event epitomized just how much Biden has embraced big-dollar fundraising , even as his party grows suspicious of the billionaire class .
( Now ahead of the general election , even Democrats like Elizabeth Warren , who campaigned against big-money politics , are headlining fundraisers for him . )
While @ @ @ @ @ @ @ policy , not tech issues , it also reflected Biden ’ s comfort with Silicon Valley , another group that some progressive activists now regard with doubt .
The event carried a minimum ticket price of $ 100,000 , according to an invitation .
And as a sign of how exclusive it was , some Biden bundlers in the Bay Area said they didn ’ t even know it was happening .
It was organized by Steyer through a group called Climate Leaders for Biden , which is largely made up of donors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is planning a second event for June 18 that is expected to bring in at least another $ 3.2 million , according to a Steyer spokesperson .
The event is also a sign of Biden gaining traction in tech .
During the early days of the primary , Biden had an unusually weak relationship with Silicon Valley ’ s contributors , particularly the younger set of entrepreneurs who came into wealth over the last decade or so .
Over the last few weeks , the Biden campaign has significantly ramped up its outreach @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of fundraising events tailored for the tech community and making campaign digital aides available , even on platforms like the Silicon Valley app Clubhouse , so that tech titans can offer their advice .
Meanwhile , some of these Silicon Valley billionaires are taking matters into their own hands , pushing their own digital and media solutions to boost Biden through outside groups .
We wrote about those efforts last week .
Every day at Vox , we aim to answer your most important questions and provide you , and our audience around @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the power to save lives .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
Vox ’ s work is reaching more people than ever , but our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources — particularly during a pandemic and an economic downturn .
Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation , but it will enable our staff to continue to offer free articles , videos , and podcasts at the quality and volume that this moment requires .
Please @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .

A small group of billionaires and other elite Silicon Valley donors on Thursday threw Joe Biden a fundraiser — over a video conference link with no wining and dining or schmooze time. And it ended up being what is believed to be his biggest fundraiser of the entire campaign.
It was a peculiar event, even for today’s big-money era of presidential politics. Just 25 donors pitched in a total of $4 million for the presumptive Democratic nominee and the Democratic Party as a whole. Simple math shows that an average of $160,000 per person was handed over in return for just about 20 minutes with Biden over Zoom. There were also two questions from the audience as well as a “virtual photo op” with those who paid top dollar.
That haul was undeniably possible because of the lead donors’ bank accounts. The principal host was Tom Steyer, the San Francisco billionaire who ran for president himself before returning to his typical role in Democratic politics as one of his party’s very biggest contributors. Other hosts included climate activist Nicole Systrom, the wife of Instagram founder Kevin Systrom; and Silicon Valley power couple Swati Mylavarapu, the former finance chair for Pete Buttigieg’s campaign, and her husband Matt Rogers, the co-founder of Nest.
Perhaps more than any other fundraiser during the entire campaign, the event epitomized just how much Biden has embraced big-dollar fundraising, even as his party grows suspicious of the billionaire class. (Now ahead of the general election, even Democrats like Elizabeth Warren, who campaigned against big-money politics, are headlining fundraisers for him.) While the virtual event was centered around climate policy, not tech issues, it also reflected Biden’s comfort with Silicon Valley, another group that some progressive activists now regard with doubt.
The event carried a minimum ticket price of $100,000, according to an invitation. And as a sign of how exclusive it was, some Biden bundlers in the Bay Area said they didn’t even know it was happening. It was organized by Steyer through a group called Climate Leaders for Biden, which is largely made up of donors in the Bay Area, and it is planning a second event for June 18 that is expected to bring in at least another $3.2 million, according to a Steyer spokesperson.
The event is also a sign of Biden gaining traction in tech. During the early days of the primary, Biden had an unusually weak relationship with Silicon Valley’s contributors, particularly the younger set of entrepreneurs who came into wealth over the last decade or so. Over the last few weeks, the Biden campaign has significantly ramped up its outreach to these people, hosting a number of fundraising events tailored for the tech community and making campaign digital aides available, even on platforms like the Silicon Valley app Clubhouse, so that tech titans can offer their advice.
Meanwhile, some of these Silicon Valley billionaires are taking matters into their own hands, pushing their own digital and media solutions to boost Biden through outside groups. We wrote about those efforts last week.


vox--2020-06-04--A major study on Covid-19 and hydroxychloroquine has been retracted

The Lancet , one of the world ’ s leading journals in medical science , has retracted a paper finding that the malaria drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine , touted by President Trump as Covid-19 treatments , increase mortality in patients .
To be clear , there is , as of this writing , little evidence that chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine are effective treatments for Covid-19 , in spite of their popularity as an “ alternative remedy ” that even Trump himself says he has taken as a prophylactic .
Research on the topic is ongoing ; on Wednesday , a major @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Covid-19 prevention drug found no benefits .
But three of the Lancet paper ’ s four authors , Mandeep Mehra , Frank Ruschitzka , and Amit Patel , of Harvard Medical School , the University of Zurich , and the University of Utah respectively , said in their retraction statement that they “ can no longer vouch for the veracity of the primary data sources.
” As Vox ’ s Kelsey Piper reported , scientists began expressing skepticism about the paper soon after its release .
The paper did not find a relationship @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the mortality rate in patients , which is inconsistent with what we know about chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine deaths in other contexts .
And the paper reported more deaths in Australian hospitals than the Australian government did , according to the Guardian .
Subsequent reporting revealed much deeper problems with the data source that Mehra et al used .
They relied on a US company called Surgisphere , a secretive firm that a Guardian investigation revealed to be , at the very least , suspicious in nature .
Many of its 11 employees @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lack any scientific background ; one was a science fiction author and fantasy artist , and another an “ adult model and events hostess.
” “ Until Monday , the ‘ get in touch ’ link on Surgisphere ’ s homepage redirected to a WordPress template for a cryptocurrency website , raising questions about how hospitals could easily contact the company to join its database , ” the Guardian ’ s Melissa Davey , Stephanie Kirchgaessner , and Sarah Boseley wrote .
One of the few employees who does have a scientific background @ @ @ @ @ @ @ co-authored the Lancet paper ; his name was conspicuously absent from the retraction notice , which detailed that Surgisphere was not complying with requests from the journal to examine their data in more detail .
Desai told the Guardian that Surgisphere works by compiling data from hospitals that has been anonymized by the hospitals before being fed into the database , for patient privacy .
But per the Guardian ’ s Davey , “ not one major Australian hospital spoken to by Guardian Australia had heard of Surgisphere or the database , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ world scoffed at the idea that staff would have time to de-identify patient data and contribute to a US database in the middle of a pandemic.
” The Lancet is not alone in distancing itself from Surgisphere data .
Another paper coauthored by Mehra , Patel , and Desai was retracted from the New England Journal of Medicine because the authors were “ unable to validate the primary data sources ” — which is to say , the Surgisphere data it relied upon .
The Covid-19 pandemic is an unprecedented situation where the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the disease is immense and , with more than 100,000 new cases being diagnosed every day , time is of the essence .
That creates incentives to try out new data sources that allow researchers to do statistical analysis right now , without conducting new trials .
But this pressure also runs the risk of incentivizing low-quality data sources and even outright frauds .
We don ’ t know for sure what Surgisphere ’ s data is yet , but it ’ s unlikely to be the last firm to face accusations like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we aim to answer your most important questions and provide you , and our audience around the world , with information that has the power to save lives .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
Vox ’ s work is reaching more people than ever , but our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources — particularly during a pandemic and an economic downturn .
Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation , but it will enable our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , videos , and podcasts at the quality and volume that this moment requires .
Please consider making a contribution to Vox today .

The Lancet, one of the world’s leading journals in medical science, has retracted a paper finding that the malaria drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, touted by President Trump as Covid-19 treatments, increase mortality in patients.
To be clear, there is, as of this writing, little evidence that chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine are effective treatments for Covid-19, in spite of their popularity as an “alternative remedy” that even Trump himself says he has taken as a prophylactic. Research on the topic is ongoing; on Wednesday, a major randomized controlled trial of hydroxychloroquine as a Covid-19 prevention drug found no benefits.
But three of the Lancet paper’s four authors, Mandeep Mehra, Frank Ruschitzka, and Amit Patel, of Harvard Medical School, the University of Zurich, and the University of Utah respectively, said in their retraction statement that they “can no longer vouch for the veracity of the primary data sources.”
As Vox’s Kelsey Piper reported, scientists began expressing skepticism about the paper soon after its release. The paper did not find a relationship between the dose of the drug given and the mortality rate in patients, which is inconsistent with what we know about chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine deaths in other contexts. And the paper reported more deaths in Australian hospitals than the Australian government did, according to the Guardian.
Subsequent reporting revealed much deeper problems with the data source that Mehra et al used. They relied on a US company called Surgisphere, a secretive firm that a Guardian investigation revealed to be, at the very least, suspicious in nature. Many of its 11 employees (per its CEO) appeared to lack any scientific background; one was a science fiction author and fantasy artist, and another an “adult model and events hostess.”
“Until Monday, the ‘get in touch’ link on Surgisphere’s homepage redirected to a WordPress template for a cryptocurrency website, raising questions about how hospitals could easily contact the company to join its database,” the Guardian’s Melissa Davey, Stephanie Kirchgaessner, and Sarah Boseley wrote.
One of the few employees who does have a scientific background is chief executive Sapan Desai, who co-authored the Lancet paper; his name was conspicuously absent from the retraction notice, which detailed that Surgisphere was not complying with requests from the journal to examine their data in more detail. Desai told the Guardian that Surgisphere works by compiling data from hospitals that has been anonymized by the hospitals before being fed into the database, for patient privacy.
But per the Guardian’s Davey, “not one major Australian hospital spoken to by Guardian Australia had heard of Surgisphere or the database,” and “doctors from hospitals around the world scoffed at the idea that staff would have time to de-identify patient data and contribute to a US database in the middle of a pandemic.”
The Lancet is not alone in distancing itself from Surgisphere data. Another paper coauthored by Mehra, Patel, and Desai was retracted from the New England Journal of Medicine because the authors were “unable to validate the primary data sources” — which is to say, the Surgisphere data it relied upon.
The Covid-19 pandemic is an unprecedented situation where the pressure to contribute to scientific knowledge about the disease is immense and, with more than 100,000 new cases being diagnosed every day, time is of the essence. That creates incentives to try out new data sources that allow researchers to do statistical analysis right now, without conducting new trials. But this pressure also runs the risk of incentivizing low-quality data sources and even outright frauds. We don’t know for sure what Surgisphere’s data is yet, but it’s unlikely to be the last firm to face accusations like this.


vox--2020-06-04--Hong Kong defies ban to honor Tiananmen Square massacre victims

Thousands of people in Hong Kong defiantly commemorated the Tiananmen Square massacre on Thursday , holding a vigil despite a police ban as the territory witnesses Beijing stamp out its freedoms in real time .
Each year , the pro-democracy protesters killed by Chinese government forces on June 4 , 1989 , are honored in Hong Kong — one of the few places in China , along with Macau , where the day is usually allowed to be recognized .
China has tried to erase and rewrite the history of the massacre , and in the mainland , little is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the democracy movement .
But this year , for the first time , Hong Kong authorities refused to grant a permit for the candlelight vigil , which is traditionally held in Victoria Park .
The reason given was the coronavirus : Mass gatherings of more than eight people are restricted under current social distancing rules .
However , many other restrictions have been lifted in Hong Kong , and the territory has very few cases — on June 4 , the government reported six infections ; the day before , zero .
( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ permit . )
But thousands of Hongkongers gathered on June 4 anyway outside of Victoria Park , which had been barricaded off by police .
Many tried to observe social distancing rules by sitting or standing apart as they chanted pro-democracy slogans and , in some instances , rallied for Hong Kong ’ s independence from China , once a radical idea .
Others brought candles to other parts of the city , as organizers of the vigil had encouraged Hongkongers to “ light a candle wherever they are.
” “ We fight @ @ @ @ @ @ @ [ in Tiananmen Square ] 31 years ago , ” 24-year-old Hammond Tong told the Washington Post .
“ The Chinese Communist Party has not changed one bit — the oppression , suppression and persecution have only increased .
We must not forget , nor can we stop fighting.
” The vigil this year , even in its more fragmented form , has added weight as China moves to undermine the “ one country , two systems ” framework , which allows Hong Kong to have a degree of autonomy for its democratic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ speech not afforded to the rest of mainland China , until at least 2047 .
China has long been trying to pull Hong Kong closer into its orbit .
Shortly after last year ’ s Tiananmen Square vigil , Hong Kong erupted into protests against a controversial extradition bill that many saw as an attempt by Beijing to restrict Hong Kong ’ s freedoms .
The first massive protest , on June 9 , kicked off nearly a year of sustained pro-democracy demonstrations in the territory , which only died down earlier this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ last month , Beijing passed a national security law intended to curtail foreign interference or activities that undermine the state .
Many critics say that Beijing — and officials in Hong Kong — are likely to interpret that broadly , which could potentially criminalize any dissent or perceived resistance to China .
And that would almost certainly include Hong Kong ’ s protesters .
The passage of the law sparked massive resistance once more , as thousands defied lockdown measures to protest against the legislation .
But Hong Kong ’ s future , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ precarious than they ’ ve ever been .
On Thursday , Hong Kong ’ s mostly pro-China legislature voted to adopt a law that would make it illegal to mock or disrespect China ’ s national anthem , with penalties of up to three years in prison .
The bill would also allow police to investigate violations for up to two years , the Wall Street Journal reported , giving authorities time to scour social media for videos and images of large crowds .
The crowd at the vigil sang “ Glory to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the Hong Kong protests — in apparent defiance of the new law .
The international community has condemned China ’ s move .
But unrest in the US is complicating the message .
China ’ s national security law has not yet been implemented , but when it is , many fear it could chill protests and even mark the official end of gatherings like the Tiananmen Square vigil , which Beijing seems determined to stop .
Which is why this year ’ s vigil almost became not only about the pro-democracy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about Hong Kong , both its past and its future .
Amid China ’ s aggressive moves to assert authority over the territory , calls for Hong Kong ’ s independence are growing louder , as pro-democracy advocates see dwindling options to preserve its autonomy .
And the international community may not be much help .
The United Kingdom , which once controlled Hong Kong , has promised to expand the number of Hongkongers who can come to Britain with visas — a move that many advocates support , but that will do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ institutions .
The United States has announced it will consider revoking Hong Kong ’ s special trade status because it is no longer fully autonomous from China , a move that could damage Hong Kong ’ s position as a global financial capital .
That special status once deterred China from taking too heavy a hand in Hong Kong — though that has changed , too , as Hong Kong ’ s economic importance to China has diminished .
But now there may be even less reason for China to rhetorically honor “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s rebuke of China for “ absolutely smothering ” the freedoms of Hong Kong also rings hollow amid America ’ s own unrest .
President Donald Trump is still considering sending active-duty military forces to help control the George Floyd protests taking place across the country , which have been largely peaceful and , in some egregious instances , met with force .
The Chinese government has pointed out the hypocrisy of US lawmakers who criticized Hong Kong police for cracking down on and tear-gassing protesters while the same thing happens in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ DC , where peaceful protesters were cleared with chemical irritants to make way for a presidential photo op .
This is especially stark on the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre .
Some US lawmakers who have been highly critical of China ’ s military response to pro-democracy protesters have openly advocated for using the US military to control protests on American streets .
That disconnect will make it harder for the US , and the rest of the world , to take meaningful action to protect Hong Kong — and to keep @ @ @ @ @ @ @ today , what happened in Tiananmen Square three decades ago .
Every day at Vox , we aim to answer your most important questions and provide you , and our audience around the world , with information that has the power to save lives .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
Vox ’ s work is reaching more people than ever , but our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources — particularly during a pandemic and an economic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ constitute a donation , but it will enable our staff to continue to offer free articles , videos , and podcasts at the quality and volume that this moment requires .
Please consider making a contribution to Vox today .

Thousands of people in Hong Kong defiantly commemorated the Tiananmen Square massacre on Thursday, holding a vigil despite a police ban as the territory witnesses Beijing stamp out its freedoms in real time.
Each year, the pro-democracy protesters killed by Chinese government forces on June 4, 1989, are honored in Hong Kong — one of the few places in China, along with Macau, where the day is usually allowed to be recognized. China has tried to erase and rewrite the history of the massacre, and in the mainland, little is known of how the Chinese military crushed the democracy movement.
But this year, for the first time, Hong Kong authorities refused to grant a permit for the candlelight vigil, which is traditionally held in Victoria Park. The reason given was the coronavirus: Mass gatherings of more than eight people are restricted under current social distancing rules. However, many other restrictions have been lifted in Hong Kong, and the territory has very few cases — on June 4, the government reported six infections; the day before, zero. (Activists in Macau were also denied a permit.)
But thousands of Hongkongers gathered on June 4 anyway outside of Victoria Park, which had been barricaded off by police. Many tried to observe social distancing rules by sitting or standing apart as they chanted pro-democracy slogans and, in some instances, rallied for Hong Kong’s independence from China, once a radical idea.
Instead of “End to the one-party dictatorship!” “Vindicate June4th!”
Attendees of the vigil are now chanting:
“Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our time!”
“Five demands, not one less”
“Hong Kong independence, the only way out!” pic.twitter.com/t1ni7aP3C5 — Kinling Lo 盧建靈 (@kinlinglo) June 4, 2020
Defying a government ban and threats to prosecute attendees, thousands of people in Hong Kong have shown up at a Tiananmen vigil (but are still social distancing) pic.twitter.com/UY7eZeQhup — Daniel Victor (@bydanielvictor) June 4, 2020
Others brought candles to other parts of the city, as organizers of the vigil had encouraged Hongkongers to “light a candle wherever they are.”
People in every corner of #HK marked #June4 with candlelight, defying police ban on candlelight vigil in Victoria Park (where thousands came out regardless). This is the #HK spirit of the resistance of ordinary people that one day will prevail. #6431truth pic.twitter.com/EPz9VBex4N — Kong Tsung-gan / 江松澗 (@KongTsungGan) June 4, 2020
“We fight for the same things as they did [in Tiananmen Square] 31 years ago,” 24-year-old Hammond Tong told the Washington Post. “The Chinese Communist Party has not changed one bit — the oppression, suppression and persecution have only increased. We must not forget, nor can we stop fighting.”
The vigil this year, even in its more fragmented form, has added weight as China moves to undermine the “one country, two systems” framework, which allows Hong Kong to have a degree of autonomy for its democratic system, and freedoms of press and speech not afforded to the rest of mainland China, until at least 2047.
China has long been trying to pull Hong Kong closer into its orbit. Shortly after last year’s Tiananmen Square vigil, Hong Kong erupted into protests against a controversial extradition bill that many saw as an attempt by Beijing to restrict Hong Kong’s freedoms. The first massive protest, on June 9, kicked off nearly a year of sustained pro-democracy demonstrations in the territory, which only died down earlier this year because of pandemic fears.
But last month, Beijing passed a national security law intended to curtail foreign interference or activities that undermine the state. Many critics say that Beijing — and officials in Hong Kong — are likely to interpret that broadly, which could potentially criminalize any dissent or perceived resistance to China. And that would almost certainly include Hong Kong’s protesters.
The passage of the law sparked massive resistance once more, as thousands defied lockdown measures to protest against the legislation.
But Hong Kong’s future, and its freedoms, are perhaps more precarious than they’ve ever been.
On Thursday, Hong Kong’s mostly pro-China legislature voted to adopt a law that would make it illegal to mock or disrespect China’s national anthem, with penalties of up to three years in prison. The bill would also allow police to investigate violations for up to two years, the Wall Street Journal reported, giving authorities time to scour social media for videos and images of large crowds.
The crowd at the vigil sang “Glory to Hong Kong” — the unofficial anthem of the Hong Kong protests — in apparent defiance of the new law.
The crowd chants for democracy and sings the protest anthem Glory to Hong Kong. pic.twitter.com/3CiPmS6Xwp — Hong Kong Free Press HKFP (@HongKongFP) June 4, 2020
The international community has condemned China’s move. But unrest in the US is complicating the message.
China’s national security law has not yet been implemented, but when it is, many fear it could chill protests and even mark the official end of gatherings like the Tiananmen Square vigil, which Beijing seems determined to stop.
Which is why this year’s vigil almost became not only about the pro-democracy activists who died in 1989 but also about Hong Kong, both its past and its future. Amid China’s aggressive moves to assert authority over the territory, calls for Hong Kong’s independence are growing louder, as pro-democracy advocates see dwindling options to preserve its autonomy.
And the international community may not be much help. The United Kingdom, which once controlled Hong Kong, has promised to expand the number of Hongkongers who can come to Britain with visas — a move that many advocates support, but that will do little to save Hong Kong’s institutions.
The United States has announced it will consider revoking Hong Kong’s special trade status because it is no longer fully autonomous from China, a move that could damage Hong Kong’s position as a global financial capital. That special status once deterred China from taking too heavy a hand in Hong Kong — though that has changed, too, as Hong Kong’s economic importance to China has diminished. But now there may be even less reason for China to rhetorically honor “one country, two systems.”
America’s rebuke of China for “absolutely smothering” the freedoms of Hong Kong also rings hollow amid America’s own unrest.
President Donald Trump is still considering sending active-duty military forces to help control the George Floyd protests taking place across the country, which have been largely peaceful and, in some egregious instances, met with force. The Chinese government has pointed out the hypocrisy of US lawmakers who criticized Hong Kong police for cracking down on and tear-gassing protesters while the same thing happens in American cities — including in Washington, DC, where peaceful protesters were cleared with chemical irritants to make way for a presidential photo op.
This is especially stark on the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. Some US lawmakers who have been highly critical of China’s military response to pro-democracy protesters have openly advocated for using the US military to control protests on American streets.
That disconnect will make it harder for the US, and the rest of the world, to take meaningful action to protect Hong Kong — and to keep honoring, as Hongkongers tried to do today, what happened in Tiananmen Square three decades ago.