vox--2020-05-12--What Trump’s refusal to wear a mask says about masculinity in America

When reporter BrieAnna Frank showed up to a Honeywell plant last week in Arizona to cover President Donald Trump ’ s visit , she was sure to wear a mask .
Masks were the reason the president was there : The former aerospace plant in Phoenix has pivoted to producing them in recent months amid a nationwide shortage of personal protective equipment ( PPE ) .
But the dozen or so people who had gathered outside the facility to cheer on the president were not there to support masks .
They had their faces uncovered , Frank told Vox .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to interview them , the conversation quickly got heated .
“ They started to yell that me and the other journalists there were trying to incite fear and panic and paranoia ” by wearing masks , said Frank , who works for the Arizona Republic .
One man in particular seemed to take issue with the male journalists wearing masks , she recalled .
“ It ’ s submission , it ’ s muzzling yourself , it looks weak , ” he said , “ especially for men.
” “ I felt that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ know about , ” said Frank , whose tweets about the encounter went viral .
To the crowd in front of the factory , she said , “ Masks clearly symbolized something beyond , ‘ I am trying to protect my health.
’ ” They ’ re not alone .
Trump himself declined to wear a mask while being photographed at the plant , though he claims he wore one “ backstage.
” Vice President Mike Pence was criticized for failing to wear a mask during a tour of the Mayo Clinic in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up at the Michigan statehouse on April 30 to protest stay-at-home orders amid the coronavirus pandemic , many were mask-free .
One shouting , bare-faced man who was photographed at the rally later said he was “ not at all ” worried about the virus and would never wear a mask — “ ever.
” Since the pandemic began , the issue of wearing masks has further exposed America ’ s racial and gender prejudices .
Earlier on , wearing masks was associated with Asian countries and often dismissed because of racist assumptions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ many cities began to require residents to wear masks , police began targeting black men for covering their faces , profiling them as criminals rather than as people trying to abide by health guidelines .
And for a certain subset of mostly white , conservative men , not wearing a mask seems to have become a hallmark of manliness .
For unmasked protesters like the ones in Michigan , “ There ’ s an assumption of a kind of invincibility that is tied to this idea of white masculinity , ” Jonathan Metzl @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at Vanderbilt University and the author of Dying of Whiteness : How the Politics of Racial Resentment Is Killing America ’ s Heartland , told Vox .
It ’ s not just men — Frank noticed many women among the unmasked Trump supporters gathered at the Honeywell plant .
And , of course , many men are happy to follow the recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to cover their faces in public .
Still , a narrative has emerged on the right that wearing a mask is weak and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And that narrative could put everyone at risk .
“ One thing about [ being ] macho is being fearless , ” Melanye Price , a political science professor at Prairie View A & M University , told Vox .
“ But that fearlessness comes at a cost for every single person around you.
” The CDC recommends masks .
Not everyone is listening .
Long before the pandemic hit , masks were common in East Asian countries , where they ’ re seen as a simple way to protect yourself ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Refinery29 ’ s Connie Wang wrote in March .
Wuhan , China , where the coronavirus outbreak began , started requiring them in January .
The US was much slower to recommend masks for the general public , but in early April — with confirmed coronavirus cases jumping by the day — the CDC recommended that everyone wear a cloth mask in certain public settings .
Some cities , like New York and Los Angeles , began mandating the wearing of masks in certain settings as well .
Like much about the coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ transmission isn ’ t entirely clear .
But many experts believe that even cloth masks can offer some degree of protection for wearers — and perhaps greater protection for the people around them .
The virus seems to spread “ when germ-containing droplets make it into a person ’ s mouth , nose , or eyes , ” as Vox ’ s German Lopez previously reported , and it ’ s true that “ masks stop people from spreading their own droplets.
” If everyone wears a mask — including those who are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ virus — it could help halt the spread of Covid-19 .
Most Americans appear to be on board with the CDC ’ s recommendation .
In a Morning Consult poll ( conducted from April 7 to 9 ) , 72 percent of respondents said they planned to start wearing a face mask in public places over the next two weeks .
Others , however , have chafed at the CDC ’ s advice .
As people around the country protest their state ’ s shelter-in-place orders , many have appeared in public without @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Michigan , which has become a hotbed of resistance to social distancing restrictions — a defiance Trump has encouraged via his tweets about “ liberating ” Michigan and other states .
And on April 30 , hundreds of protesters gathered at the state capitol in Lansing , some of them armed and many of them eschewing masks and standing close together in violation of social distancing guidelines , according to Reuters .
One of the mask-less protesters was Brian Cash , who was photographed shouting during the event .
He later told @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus was “ intentionally released ” by the Chinese government and that the state ’ s stay-at-home order is useless because people still go to grocery stores and pharmacies .
“ So what is the point of staying at home ?
” he asked .
“ One thing about [ being ] macho is being fearless .
But that fearlessness comes at a cost for every single person around you.
” The resistance to masks has also found support within the Trump administration .
Pence , the head of the federal government ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not wear a mask while touring the Mayo Clinic in April because he is tested for Covid-19 regularly .
( He later backpedaled and said he “ should have ” worn one . )
But a mask-less Pence attended two events in Iowa on May 8 , the same day his press secretary tested positive for the virus , according to the Intercept .
At one of those events , CEOs were reportedly asked to remove their masks before joining Pence onstage .
Trump , meanwhile , has consistently appeared in public without @ @ @ @ @ @ @ without one at the Honeywell plant in Arizona , he said he had worn one “ backstage , ” outside the view of cameras .
“ But they said you didn ’ t need it , so , I didn ’ t need it , ” he went on .
“ And by the way , if you noticed , nobody else had it on that was in the group.
” Aides tested positive for the virus days later , and staffers have since been asked to wear masks on White House grounds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump , however , is still unlikely to wear a mask himself , aides say .
For Trump , not wearing a mask be a way to project masculinity The Trump administration ’ s behavior around masks has gendered overtones .
For Trump and Pence , not wearing a mask may be a way to project a macho image , Metzl said , playing into “ tropes of indestructibility.
” “ Appearing to play it safe contradicts a core principle of masculinity : show no weakness , ” wrote social sciences professor Peter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ experts ’ warnings about personal danger signals ‘ I ’ m a tough guy , bring it on.
’ ” Trump ’ s messaging has also helped promote the idea that ignoring the risks of coronavirus is the tough or strong thing to do .
Despite warnings from public health experts about the dangers of reopening the country too early , he said at the Honeywell plant that “ the people of our country should think of themselves as warriors ” because “ our country has to open.
” Such militaristic , tough-guy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ refusal to wear a mask , may encourage ordinary people — especially men — to minimize the risk of coronavirus for the sake of appearing manly .
While the refusal to wear masks isn ’ t an exclusively male phenomenon — a Michigan woman was arrested last month after police said she attacked a grocery store employee who told her to leave because she wasn ’ t wearing a mask — there is some evidence that men may view mask recommendations with more skepticism than women .
In the April Morning Consult poll @ @ @ @ @ @ @ planned to wear a face mask in public over the next two weeks , compared with 67 percent of men .
Though Trump ’ s narrative around the virus may be reinforcing gender stereotypes , the issue of masks is revealing Americans ’ racial biases as well .
While white men have been able to appear in public without masks — and with guns — as part of a protest , black men have been targeted by police , both for wearing and for not wearing masks .
In Philadelphia , officers were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ man from a bus for not covering his face , just one day after the city began requiring it , Fabiola Cineas reported for Vox in April .
And a police officer in Miami handcuffed and arrested Armen Henderson , a black doctor who tests homeless people for Covid-19 , as he loaded equipment into a van in front of his home — while wearing a mask .
Black Americans often have to engage in “ social signaling ” to make white people feel comfortable in public spaces , said Price , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ good morning first , you smile first , ” she said .
“ None of that can be done with masks.
” White people often already perceive black people as dangerous or not belonging in public places , Price said .
“ But a black body with a mask is something that somehow expresses even more danger.
” Meanwhile , for white protesters like those in Michigan , not wearing a mask may signal a kind of immunity from danger — or at least a perceived immunity .
As white Americans , they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ kind of police brutality that black people face when they engage in protest .
“ Imagine 10 black men and rifles walking up to any state capitol in the United States , ” Price said .
“ They would be shot before they ever made it up the steps.
” But congregating in crowds without masks is also a statement of perceived immunity from the virus , Metzl said .
The unmasked protesters seemed to be sending the message that “ nothing ’ s going to happen to me because of my whiteness @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you thought you were really going to get the coronavirus , you wouldn ’ t act like that.
” The fact that black and Latinx Americans in many communities are disproportionately likely to become infected and die of Covid-19 may be influencing such attitudes .
“ I think for a lot of the country , people feel like this is something that ’ s happening to someone else , ” Metzl said .
But people who refuse to wear masks may be putting others , not just themselves , at risk Obviously , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to avoid masks could backfire if they get sick .
Pence and Trump may also find themselves rethinking their stance in the coming days since White House officials tested positive — Pence himself is reportedly keeping his distance from Trump and other staffers to avoid potentially exposing them .
But the especially disturbing thing about refusing to wear a mask is that , while it may seem like an expression of toughness , it actually increases the risk to others more than yourself , Metzl said .
While some may feel that not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , “ You could also think about this in terms of all the other people you ’ re putting at risk by not wearing a mask , ” he added — your family , friends , colleagues , the rest of society .
The failure to wear one is “ symbolic of a kind of loss of a bigger common sense of responsibility to each other.
” Remedying that loss is not going to be as simple as sending the message that “ tough guys wear masks , ” Metzl said .
( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ suggested a tagline for a potential “ Masks For Him ” line of accessories : “ We put the ‘ mask ’ in ‘ toxic maskulinity.
’ ” ) Rather , the country has to look at what the current mask debate says about racism and other prejudices .
“ What we need is a much more concerted effort to address the bigger issues that are represented by masks , ” Metzl said .
For the Arizona Republic ’ s Frank , the confrontation over masks outside the Honeywell plant is part of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ She recalled another incident in which a female reporter was accosted , this time by a woman , for wearing a mask .
“ I do think that what happened to all of us out there in the field on Tuesday is indicative of a larger issue ” with how masks are viewed in the US , Frank said .
But for her , wearing a mask is about one thing : public health .
Frank lives with her mother , a nurse who treats Covid-19 patients .
“ I try to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people gathered outside the plant .
“ I try to protect myself and those around me.
” 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 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
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 .

When reporter BrieAnna Frank showed up to a Honeywell plant last week in Arizona to cover President Donald Trump’s visit, she was sure to wear a mask.
Masks were the reason the president was there: The former aerospace plant in Phoenix has pivoted to producing them in recent months amid a nationwide shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE).
But the dozen or so people who had gathered outside the facility to cheer on the president were not there to support masks. They had their faces uncovered, Frank told Vox.
As she approached members of the crowd to interview them, the conversation quickly got heated. “They started to yell that me and the other journalists there were trying to incite fear and panic and paranoia” by wearing masks, said Frank, who works for the Arizona Republic.
One man in particular seemed to take issue with the male journalists wearing masks, she recalled. “It’s submission, it’s muzzling yourself, it looks weak,” he said, “especially for men.”
9:32 am - myself + other journalists here are being harassed for wearing masks.
One man says: “It’s submission, it’s muzzling yourself, it looks weak - especially for men.”
We’re being accused of fear-mongering, not knowing anything + being “pieces of shit.”
@azcentral — BrieAnna J. Frank (@brieannafrank) May 5, 2020
“I felt that it was a statement that people should know about,” said Frank, whose tweets about the encounter went viral. To the crowd in front of the factory, she said, “Masks clearly symbolized something beyond, ‘I am trying to protect my health.’”
They’re not alone. Trump himself declined to wear a mask while being photographed at the plant, though he claims he wore one “backstage.” Vice President Mike Pence was criticized for failing to wear a mask during a tour of the Mayo Clinic in April. And when armed protesters showed up at the Michigan statehouse on April 30 to protest stay-at-home orders amid the coronavirus pandemic, many were mask-free. One shouting, bare-faced man who was photographed at the rally later said he was “not at all” worried about the virus and would never wear a mask — “ever.”
Since the pandemic began, the issue of wearing masks has further exposed America’s racial and gender prejudices. Earlier on, wearing masks was associated with Asian countries and often dismissed because of racist assumptions about those countries. Then, as many cities began to require residents to wear masks, police began targeting black men for covering their faces, profiling them as criminals rather than as people trying to abide by health guidelines. And for a certain subset of mostly white, conservative men, not wearing a mask seems to have become a hallmark of manliness.
For unmasked protesters like the ones in Michigan, “There’s an assumption of a kind of invincibility that is tied to this idea of white masculinity,” Jonathan Metzl, a professor of sociology and psychiatry at Vanderbilt University and the author of Dying of Whiteness: How the Politics of Racial Resentment Is Killing America’s Heartland, told Vox.
It’s not just men — Frank noticed many women among the unmasked Trump supporters gathered at the Honeywell plant. And, of course, many men are happy to follow the recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to cover their faces in public. Still, a narrative has emerged on the right that wearing a mask is weak and refusing to wear one is somehow strong. And that narrative could put everyone at risk.
“One thing about [being] macho is being fearless,” Melanye Price, a political science professor at Prairie View A&M University, told Vox. “But that fearlessness comes at a cost for every single person around you.”
The CDC recommends masks. Not everyone is listening.
Long before the pandemic hit, masks were common in East Asian countries, where they’re seen as a simple way to protect yourself (and others) from disease, as Refinery29’s Connie Wang wrote in March. Wuhan, China, where the coronavirus outbreak began, started requiring them in January. The US was much slower to recommend masks for the general public, but in early April — with confirmed coronavirus cases jumping by the day — the CDC recommended that everyone wear a cloth mask in certain public settings. Some cities, like New York and Los Angeles, began mandating the wearing of masks in certain settings as well.
Like much about the coronavirus, the impact of wearing masks on transmission isn’t entirely clear. But many experts believe that even cloth masks can offer some degree of protection for wearers — and perhaps greater protection for the people around them. The virus seems to spread “when germ-containing droplets make it into a person’s mouth, nose, or eyes,” as Vox’s German Lopez previously reported, and it’s true that “masks stop people from spreading their own droplets.” If everyone wears a mask — including those who are asymptomatic but may still be carrying the virus — it could help halt the spread of Covid-19.
Most Americans appear to be on board with the CDC’s recommendation. In a Morning Consult poll (conducted from April 7 to 9), 72 percent of respondents said they planned to start wearing a face mask in public places over the next two weeks.
Others, however, have chafed at the CDC’s advice. As people around the country protest their state’s shelter-in-place orders, many have appeared in public without masks. One example is the protesters in Michigan, which has become a hotbed of resistance to social distancing restrictions — a defiance Trump has encouraged via his tweets about “liberating” Michigan and other states. And on April 30, hundreds of protesters gathered at the state capitol in Lansing, some of them armed and many of them eschewing masks and standing close together in violation of social distancing guidelines, according to Reuters.
One of the mask-less protesters was Brian Cash, who was photographed shouting during the event. He later told the Detroit Free Press he believes the coronavirus was “intentionally released” by the Chinese government and that the state’s stay-at-home order is useless because people still go to grocery stores and pharmacies. “So what is the point of staying at home?” he asked.
“One thing about [being] macho is being fearless. But that fearlessness comes at a cost for every single person around you.”
The resistance to masks has also found support within the Trump administration. Pence, the head of the federal government’s coronavirus response, said he did not wear a mask while touring the Mayo Clinic in April because he is tested for Covid-19 regularly. (He later backpedaled and said he “should have” worn one.) But a mask-less Pence attended two events in Iowa on May 8, the same day his press secretary tested positive for the virus, according to the Intercept. At one of those events, CEOs were reportedly asked to remove their masks before joining Pence onstage.
Trump, meanwhile, has consistently appeared in public without a mask. After he was photographed without one at the Honeywell plant in Arizona, he said he had worn one “backstage,” outside the view of cameras.
“But they said you didn’t need it, so, I didn’t need it,” he went on. “And by the way, if you noticed, nobody else had it on that was in the group.”
Aides tested positive for the virus days later, and staffers have since been asked to wear masks on White House grounds, according to the Washington Post. Trump, however, is still unlikely to wear a mask himself, aides say.
For Trump, not wearing a mask may be a way to project masculinity
The Trump administration’s behavior around masks has gendered overtones. For Trump and Pence, not wearing a mask may be a way to project a macho image, Metzl said, playing into “tropes of indestructibility.”
“Appearing to play it safe contradicts a core principle of masculinity: show no weakness,” wrote social sciences professor Peter Glick at Scientific American. “Defying experts’ warnings about personal danger signals ‘I’m a tough guy, bring it on.’”
Trump’s messaging has also helped promote the idea that ignoring the risks of coronavirus is the tough or strong thing to do. Despite warnings from public health experts about the dangers of reopening the country too early, he said at the Honeywell plant that “the people of our country should think of themselves as warriors” because “our country has to open.”
Such militaristic, tough-guy messaging, along with Trump’s refusal to wear a mask, may encourage ordinary people — especially men — to minimize the risk of coronavirus for the sake of appearing manly.
While the refusal to wear masks isn’t an exclusively male phenomenon — a Michigan woman was arrested last month after police said she attacked a grocery store employee who told her to leave because she wasn’t wearing a mask — there is some evidence that men may view mask recommendations with more skepticism than women. In the April Morning Consult poll, 76 percent of women said they planned to wear a face mask in public over the next two weeks, compared with 67 percent of men.
Though Trump’s narrative around the virus may be reinforcing gender stereotypes, the issue of masks is revealing Americans’ racial biases as well. While white men have been able to appear in public without masks — and with guns — as part of a protest, black men have been targeted by police, both for wearing and for not wearing masks. In Philadelphia, officers were caught on video forcibly removing a black man from a bus for not covering his face, just one day after the city began requiring it, Fabiola Cineas reported for Vox in April. And a police officer in Miami handcuffed and arrested Armen Henderson, a black doctor who tests homeless people for Covid-19, as he loaded equipment into a van in front of his home — while wearing a mask.
Black Americans often have to engage in “social signaling” to make white people feel comfortable in public spaces, said Price, the political science professor. “You say good morning first, you smile first,” she said. “None of that can be done with masks.”
White people often already perceive black people as dangerous or not belonging in public places, Price said. “But a black body with a mask is something that somehow expresses even more danger.”
Meanwhile, for white protesters like those in Michigan, not wearing a mask may signal a kind of immunity from danger — or at least a perceived immunity. As white Americans, they’re unlikely to encounter the same kind of police brutality that black people face when they engage in protest. “Imagine 10 black men and rifles walking up to any state capitol in the United States,” Price said. “They would be shot before they ever made it up the steps.”
But congregating in crowds without masks is also a statement of perceived immunity from the virus, Metzl said. The unmasked protesters seemed to be sending the message that “nothing’s going to happen to me because of my whiteness,” he explained. “If you thought you were really going to get the coronavirus, you wouldn’t act like that.”
The fact that black and Latinx Americans in many communities are disproportionately likely to become infected and die of Covid-19 may be influencing such attitudes. “I think for a lot of the country, people feel like this is something that’s happening to someone else,” Metzl said.
But people who refuse to wear masks may be putting others, not just themselves, at risk
Obviously, the feeling of invincibility that leads protesters to avoid masks could backfire if they get sick. Pence and Trump may also find themselves rethinking their stance in the coming days since White House officials tested positive — Pence himself is reportedly keeping his distance from Trump and other staffers to avoid potentially exposing them.
But the especially disturbing thing about refusing to wear a mask is that, while it may seem like an expression of toughness, it actually increases the risk to others more than yourself, Metzl said. While some may feel that not wearing a mask expresses their own invincibility, “You could also think about this in terms of all the other people you’re putting at risk by not wearing a mask,” he added — your family, friends, colleagues, the rest of society. The failure to wear one is “symbolic of a kind of loss of a bigger common sense of responsibility to each other.”
Remedying that loss is not going to be as simple as sending the message that “tough guys wear masks,” Metzl said. (Washington Post humor columnist Alexandra Petri has suggested a tagline for a potential “Masks For Him” line of accessories: “We put the ‘mask’ in ‘toxic maskulinity.’”) Rather, the country has to look at what the current mask debate says about racism and other prejudices. “What we need is a much more concerted effort to address the bigger issues that are represented by masks,” Metzl said.
For the Arizona Republic’s Frank, the confrontation over masks outside the Honeywell plant is part of a wider narrative around the virus. She recalled another incident in which a female reporter was accosted, this time by a woman, for wearing a mask. “I do think that what happened to all of us out there in the field on Tuesday is indicative of a larger issue” with how masks are viewed in the US, Frank said.
But for her, wearing a mask is about one thing: public health. Frank lives with her mother, a nurse who treats Covid-19 patients. “I try to be really careful,” she told the people gathered outside the plant. “I try to protect myself and those around me.”


vox--2020-05-12--Democrats’ $3 trillion opening bid for the next stimulus package, explained

House Democrats have released a more than $ 3 trillion opening bid for the next coronavirus stimulus package , a bill designed to bolster state governments , increase widespread testing , extend unemployment insurance , and expand vote-by-mail ahead of the November election .
The latest tranche of funding that House Democrats want , which they ’ re calling the HEROES Act , is targeted at states and municipalities whose budgets are depleted due to their coronavirus response .
Many states have been hit hard with sudden spending needed to curb the virus , followed by a drain on sources @ @ @ @ @ @ @ taxes .
The House is scheduled to return to Washington and vote on the bill on Friday , House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Tuesday .
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi hasn ’ t minced words that she thinks the US needs far more coronavirus testing and contact tracing capacity than it currently has , and the bill more funding for that .
Democrats have also put in money for more direct payments to Americans , and funding to extend expanded unemployment insurance through January 2021 .
Expanded unemployment benefits are currently scheduled to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Pelosi has been fielding ideas from her Democratic caucus for the past few weeks .
In a recent letter to her caucus , Pelosi specifically cited Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell ’ s mantra to “ think big ” — a not-so-subtle message to obstinate Republicans that they shouldn ’ t be concerned with the national debt in a time of extraordinary financial crises and low interest rates .
But while this bill is Democrats ’ opening salvo , it ’ s nowhere near a final , bipartisan product negotiated with Republicans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ don ’ t want to spend more money and add to the national deficit without making spending cuts elsewhere .
In a letter to Democratic members of Congress over the weekend , Pelosi echoed the “ think big ” message for the next bill .
In other words , get a big list of Democratic priorities passed in the House first ; negotiate later .
“ We have to start someplace , and rather than starting in a way that does not meet the needs of the American people , we want to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ May 7 at her weekly press briefing .
“ And , again , we need a presidential signature , so at some point we ’ ll have to come to agreement.
” Congress has already passed close to $ 3 trillion in the past couple of months as part of its coronavirus relief efforts .
This latest House package will weigh in at over $ 3 trillion , a Democratic aide told Vox .
While far from a final bipartisan bill negotiated with the Senate , it ’ s a recognition that there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for Covid-19 , or the havoc it ’ s wreaking on the American economy .
Here ’ s what we know about the big pieces in the House bill so far : Money for states and local governments : The main focus of the House bill is getting money to states and local governments , many of which are looking at serious budget shortfalls due to the coronavirus .
The bill contains $ 500 billion for states , $ 375 billion for local governments , $ 20 billion for tribal communities , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Puerto Rico , Guam , and the US Virgin Islands .
The bill would also allocate $ 755 million to Washington in coronavirus aid .
This is far more than the first CARES Act , which established a $ 150 billion relief fund for state and local governments .
Per their state constitutions , most states have to balance their budgets and don ’ t have the ability to borrow unlimited sums of money like the federal government .
With small businesses closing and millions of people getting laid off , once-dependable income @ @ @ @ @ @ @ take a hit , and public workers like police , emergency workers and teachers stand to lose their jobs .
Additional stimulus checks : There ’ s a consensus building among Democrats that the one-time $ 1,200 economic stimulus checks to Americans weren ’ t enough to meet the scale of the current economic crisis .
Democrats are proposing another round of $ 1,200 payments to go out , but with some changes .
The payments would still be $ 1,200 for single filers and $ 2,400 for joint filers , but filers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ per dependent ( this would be capped at three dependents ) .
On a Tuesday call with reporters , Hoyer said additional stimulus checks — along with state and local money — would be Democrats ’ “ red lines ” that they won ’ t consider cutting from the next package , even if Republicans push for changes .
More funding for testing and coronavirus tracing : The US still lags other countries in per capita testing .
The country currently averages about 264,000 tests a day , and White House officials say @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so , that would be nowhere near the 900,000 daily tests that public health experts at Harvard ’ s Global Health Institute say the US should be conducting now .
Getting testing and contact tracing up to speed will take additional federal funding , and Pelosi has made it clear this will be a significant priority for Democrats in their bill .
An extension of expanded unemployment insurance : The CARES Act expanded unemployment insurance by $ 600 per week until the end of July and made more people , including freelancers and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But with the unemployment rate at a staggering 14.7 percent , there ’ s a recognition that many people will need assistance beyond July .
The House bill would extend expanded benefits through January 31 , 2021 , and put in a so-called “ soft cutoff ” to ensure some individuals could get benefits through March 2021 .
Many states need additional money to help cover their portion of unemployment benefits , with many states ’ coffers depleted due to the high demand , and the bill allocates $ 925 million to states @ @ @ @ @ @ @ money for small businesses : Lawmakers are closely monitoring both the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program , two efforts designed to provide small businesses with loans and grants to help cover financial shortfalls .
While demand for the PPP has slowed some , potentially because of the additional debt businesses could take on from the loans , the EIDL is pretty overwhelmed with applications , according to a report in the Washington Post .
Underrepresented small-business owners have so far been less likely to obtain funding from the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bills that would funnel more money to those specific entities .
Democrats ’ bill includes $ 10 billion for additional grants for small businesses .
Support for SNAP benefits : Earlier this year , lawmakers approved provisions in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act that enabled families and individuals to receive the maximum monthly SNAP benefits for which they qualify .
They haven ’ t , however , expanded what the maximum amount is , a move that could have serious implications for the poorest families , which haven ’ t seen any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Democrats have been focused on a 15 percent expansion to the maximum available benefit , similar to the increase that was implemented by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 — which was found to have had a significant impact in reducing food insecurity among lower-income households .
Their latest proposal includes $ 10 billion to cover increased demand for SNAP .
Money for elections and vote-by-mail : With a major presidential election just six months away , many states are trying to figure out how to safely hold elections without @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Congress want to put money toward expanding vote-by-mail access and extending the period for early voting , and the bill allocates $ 3.6 billion towards those efforts .
Rather than mandatory vote-by-mail , this money would help states with the costs of expanding vote-by-mail or no-excuse absentee voting , or increase funding for personal protective equipment for poll workers in states that keep in-person voting .
Funding for the US Postal Service : The bill contains $ 25 billion in funding for the US Postal Service .
Coronavirus has exacerbated longstanding problems at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ debt in part because of the modern ways Americans communicate .
The agency doesn ’ t typically rely on taxpayer money , but Democrats and some Republicans have been looking at a way to bolster the postal service , which is incredibly popular with the American public .
But the White House has resisted past efforts to prop up the program with federal funding .
COBRA subsidies : The bill funds approximately nine months of full premium subsidies for the existing health insurance program COBRA , which allows laid-off or furloughed employees to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ COBRA is typically prohibitively expensive , but this bill would make it much more affordable for millions of workers losing their health insurance along with lost jobs .
Where negotiations stand with the Senate and White House The Republican-controlled Senate could prove to be a major roadblock on this bill , though the legislation helps serve as an important marker of where the Democratic-controlled House stands .
By putting out their opening bid now , House lawmakers are going on the offensive in a way they didn ’ t with the most recent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Republicans sought to take the lead on small-business funding .
Thus far , Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has begrudgingly conceded that the stimulus will likely include additional funding for states and cities , though he ’ s repeatedly raised concerns about how more ambitious legislation could increase the national debt .
“ We ’ ve added $ 2.8 trillion to the national debt over the last six weeks .
We can ’ t keep throwing endless amounts of borrowed money at the problem in hope to fix it , ” McConnell said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Daily Briefing with Dana Perino .
Shortly after House Democrats released their bill , McConnell spokesperson David Popp called it a “ lib wish list on steroids ” in a tweet , confirming the Senate GOP has no plans to take up the bill in its current form .
Many economic experts , meanwhile , note that the stimulus that ’ s needed will have to match the singular magnitude — and nature — of the crisis .
Additionally , they emphasize that current interest rates , which are lower than they were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 2018 , reduce the cost of borrowing .
“ We want massive , debt-financed disaster relief while the economy is in its medically induced coma , ” economist Paul Krugman said on Twitter in March .
Instead , McConnell has focused on prioritizing liability protections for businesses , which may face an influx of lawsuits from workers and customers in the wake of the pandemic .
The White House , too , has its own slate of priorities .
Since the start of the outbreak , President Donald Trump has expressed interest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a measure that was used after the 2008 economic downturn and one that ’ s prompted pushback from Democrats and Republicans alike this time around .
At this point , the competing priorities suggest that a final proposal could look quite different from what Democrats are raising this week .
Given the scale of the economic fallout six months ahead of the 2020 election , however , Republicans may well be pressured to reconsider their opposition toward additional stimulus .
Every day at Vox , we aim to answer your most important questions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 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 , and podcasts at the quality @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Please consider making a contribution to Vox today .

House Democrats have released a more than $3 trillion opening bid for the next coronavirus stimulus package, a bill designed to bolster state governments, increase widespread testing, extend unemployment insurance, and expand vote-by-mail ahead of the November election.
The latest tranche of funding that House Democrats want, which they’re calling the HEROES Act, is targeted at states and municipalities whose budgets are depleted due to their coronavirus response. Many states have been hit hard with sudden spending needed to curb the virus, followed by a drain on sources of revenue from lost sales and income taxes.
The House is scheduled to return to Washington and vote on the bill on Friday, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Tuesday.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi hasn’t minced words that she thinks the US needs far more coronavirus testing and contact tracing capacity than it currently has, and the bill more funding for that. Democrats have also put in money for more direct payments to Americans, and funding to extend expanded unemployment insurance through January 2021. Expanded unemployment benefits are currently scheduled to run out at the end of July.
Pelosi has been fielding ideas from her Democratic caucus for the past few weeks. In a recent letter to her caucus, Pelosi specifically cited Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s mantra to “think big” — a not-so-subtle message to obstinate Republicans that they shouldn’t be concerned with the national debt in a time of extraordinary financial crises and low interest rates.
But while this bill is Democrats’ opening salvo, it’s nowhere near a final, bipartisan product negotiated with Republicans. Some congressional Republicans have said they don’t want to spend more money and add to the national deficit without making spending cuts elsewhere.
In a letter to Democratic members of Congress over the weekend, Pelosi echoed the “think big” message for the next bill. In other words, get a big list of Democratic priorities passed in the House first; negotiate later.
“We have to start someplace, and rather than starting in a way that does not meet the needs of the American people, we want to set a standard,” Pelosi said May 7 at her weekly press briefing. “And, again, we need a presidential signature, so at some point we’ll have to come to agreement.”
What’s in the House bill
Congress has already passed close to $3 trillion in the past couple of months as part of its coronavirus relief efforts. This latest House package will weigh in at over $3 trillion, a Democratic aide told Vox.
While far from a final bipartisan bill negotiated with the Senate, it’s a recognition that there’s no immediate end in sight for Covid-19, or the havoc it’s wreaking on the American economy. Here’s what we know about the big pieces in the House bill so far:
Money for states and local governments: The main focus of the House bill is getting money to states and local governments, many of which are looking at serious budget shortfalls due to the coronavirus. The bill contains $500 billion for states, $375 billion for local governments, $20 billion for tribal communities, and another $20 billion for territories like Puerto Rico, Guam, and the US Virgin Islands. The bill would also allocate $755 million to Washington in coronavirus aid. This is far more than the first CARES Act, which established a $150 billion relief fund for state and local governments.
Per their state constitutions, most states have to balance their budgets and don’t have the ability to borrow unlimited sums of money like the federal government. With small businesses closing and millions of people getting laid off, once-dependable income streams like sales and income taxes will take a hit, and public workers like police, emergency workers and teachers stand to lose their jobs.
Additional stimulus checks: There’s a consensus building among Democrats that the one-time $1,200 economic stimulus checks to Americans weren’t enough to meet the scale of the current economic crisis. Democrats are proposing another round of $1,200 payments to go out, but with some changes. The payments would still be $1,200 for single filers and $2,400 for joint filers, but filers would also be eligible for $1,200 per dependent (this would be capped at three dependents).
On a Tuesday call with reporters, Hoyer said additional stimulus checks — along with state and local money — would be Democrats’ “red lines” that they won’t consider cutting from the next package, even if Republicans push for changes.
More funding for testing and coronavirus tracing: The US still lags other countries in per capita testing. The country currently averages about 264,000 tests a day, and White House officials say they expect that to double. Even so, that would be nowhere near the 900,000 daily tests that public health experts at Harvard’s Global Health Institute say the US should be conducting now. Getting testing and contact tracing up to speed will take additional federal funding, and Pelosi has made it clear this will be a significant priority for Democrats in their bill.
An extension of expanded unemployment insurance: The CARES Act expanded unemployment insurance by $600 per week until the end of July and made more people, including freelancers and the self-employed, eligible for it. But with the unemployment rate at a staggering 14.7 percent, there’s a recognition that many people will need assistance beyond July. The House bill would extend expanded benefits through January 31, 2021, and put in a so-called “soft cutoff” to ensure some individuals could get benefits through March 2021. Many states need additional money to help cover their portion of unemployment benefits, with many states’ coffers depleted due to the high demand, and the bill allocates $925 million to states to assist with processing claims.
More money for small businesses: Lawmakers are closely monitoring both the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program, two efforts designed to provide small businesses with loans and grants to help cover financial shortfalls. While demand for the PPP has slowed some, potentially because of the additional debt businesses could take on from the loans, the EIDL is pretty overwhelmed with applications, according to a report in the Washington Post. Underrepresented small-business owners have so far been less likely to obtain funding from the programs, and multiple lawmakers have proposed bills that would funnel more money to those specific entities. Democrats’ bill includes $10 billion for additional grants for small businesses.
Support for SNAP benefits: Earlier this year, lawmakers approved provisions in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act that enabled families and individuals to receive the maximum monthly SNAP benefits for which they qualify. They haven’t, however, expanded what the maximum amount is, a move that could have serious implications for the poorest families, which haven’t seen any increase in the support they are receiving. Democrats have been focused on a 15 percent expansion to the maximum available benefit, similar to the increase that was implemented by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 — which was found to have had a significant impact in reducing food insecurity among lower-income households. Their latest proposal includes $10 billion to cover increased demand for SNAP.
Money for elections and vote-by-mail: With a major presidential election just six months away, many states are trying to figure out how to safely hold elections without exposing voters to coronavirus. Democrats in Congress want to put money toward expanding vote-by-mail access and extending the period for early voting, and the bill allocates $3.6 billion towards those efforts. Rather than mandatory vote-by-mail, this money would help states with the costs of expanding vote-by-mail or no-excuse absentee voting, or increase funding for personal protective equipment for poll workers in states that keep in-person voting.
Funding for the US Postal Service: The bill contains $25 billion in funding for the US Postal Service. Coronavirus has exacerbated longstanding problems at the USPS, which is saddled with debt in part because of the modern ways Americans communicate. The agency doesn’t typically rely on taxpayer money, but Democrats and some Republicans have been looking at a way to bolster the postal service, which is incredibly popular with the American public. But the White House has resisted past efforts to prop up the program with federal funding.
COBRA subsidies: The bill funds approximately nine months of full premium subsidies for the existing health insurance program COBRA, which allows laid-off or furloughed employees to stay on their health insurance plans. COBRA is typically prohibitively expensive, but this bill would make it much more affordable for millions of workers losing their health insurance along with lost jobs.
Where negotiations stand with the Senate and White House
The Republican-controlled Senate could prove to be a major roadblock on this bill, though the legislation helps serve as an important marker of where the Democratic-controlled House stands. By putting out their opening bid now, House lawmakers are going on the offensive in a way they didn’t with the most recent “interim” spending legislation, when Republicans sought to take the lead on small-business funding.
Thus far, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has begrudgingly conceded that the stimulus will likely include additional funding for states and cities, though he’s repeatedly raised concerns about how more ambitious legislation could increase the national debt. “We’ve added $2.8 trillion to the national debt over the last six weeks. We can’t keep throwing endless amounts of borrowed money at the problem in hope to fix it,” McConnell said during a May 7 appearance on The Daily Briefing with Dana Perino.
Shortly after House Democrats released their bill, McConnell spokesperson David Popp called it a “lib wish list on steroids” in a tweet, confirming the Senate GOP has no plans to take up the bill in its current form.
Jake is right. It's never becoming law.
But Senate / House GOP happy to pass judgement on its contents (lib wish list on steroids), the wisdom of doing it (A+ for political posturing), and many other things (LOL). https://t.co/PuX4pP1rhO — David Popp (@davidpopp) May 12, 2020
Many economic experts, meanwhile, note that the stimulus that’s needed will have to match the singular magnitude — and nature — of the crisis. Additionally, they emphasize that current interest rates, which are lower than they were when congressional Republicans imposed their tax cuts in 2018, reduce the cost of borrowing.
“We want massive, debt-financed disaster relief while the economy is in its medically induced coma,” economist Paul Krugman said on Twitter in March.
Instead, McConnell has focused on prioritizing liability protections for businesses, which may face an influx of lawsuits from workers and customers in the wake of the pandemic.
The White House, too, has its own slate of priorities. Since the start of the outbreak, President Donald Trump has expressed interest in implementing a payroll tax cut, a measure that was used after the 2008 economic downturn and one that’s prompted pushback from Democrats and Republicans alike this time around.
At this point, the competing priorities suggest that a final proposal could look quite different from what Democrats are raising this week. Given the scale of the economic fallout six months ahead of the 2020 election, however, Republicans may well be pressured to reconsider their opposition toward additional stimulus.


vox--2020-05-12--The world is careening toward a cliff. There’s never been a better time for Joss Whedon’s Angel.

In the canon of shows created or co-created by Joss Whedon , Angel might be the problem son .
Buffy is more obviously perfect , Firefly has that underdog charm , and Dollhouse is the weirdo youngest child who does whatever she wants .
Angel ?
Angel hasn ’ t moved out of your basement .
He broke your coffee table .
He ’ s a little surly and all over the place , yes .
But he has a good heart , ultimately , and you could never stay mad at him for long .
The comparison of this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leave his parents ’ basement because the world economy is in the gutter for the second time in his life is even more apt than I realized when I first made it : Angel speaks to our current era better than any other Whedon series .
It ’ s time to let this oddball private eye show/rumination on the problems inherent to capitalism and the corporate state , a show with one of the best finales ever made , have its moment in the sun .
Angel is a show about how working @ @ @ @ @ @ @ yet we ’ re all doomed to work within the system When it began in 1999 , Angel took Buffy Summers ’ s brooding and handsome vampire love interest ( David Boreanaz , an actor whose big break came because he was literally so hot , he made a casting agent approach him out on the street ) and moved him to Los Angeles from the smaller city of Sunnydale .
Whedon and David Greenwalt , Whedon ’ s right hand on the first three seasons of Buffy , first imagined Angel as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Each week , Angel and his associates would take a new case that inevitably had something to do with vampires or other ghouls , and the series ’ larger mythology , involving a mysterious law firm named Wolfram & Hart that had ties to the occult , would inch forward .
That ... didn ’ t really last .
Angel ’ s early going is a little stiff and boring , so Whedon and Greenwalt decided to shake things up .
And keep shaking them up .
And keep shaking them up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Angel so fun is that it ’ s essentially a completely different show with each new season .
The first year is that straightforward PI show , while year two brushes up against glum ensemble drama .
Season three is more of an antihero drama , where Angel ’ s dark and terrible past keeps coming back to haunt him , and season four is a byzantine blender that throws dozens of plot elements into its soup and completely falls apart .
Finally , season five is a workplace drama ( ?
?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ lawyers ( ?
?
? )
.
The show began simply , with Angel and fellow Buffy transplant Cordelia ( Charisma Carpenter ) working in Los Angeles .
( It ’ s here that I ’ ll note that Carpenter has strongly suggested she was eventually fired from the show in its fourth season for getting pregnant , something that nobody involved in the series has really refuted , so ... about Joss Whedon ’ s reputation for progressive feminism ... ) Very quickly , however , the series ’ writers realized that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its deep ensemble cast , and they began adding more and more new and crossover characters for Angel and Cordelia to bounce off of in the hope of recreating that same magic .
My favorite of these characters was Wesley Wyndham-Pryce ( Alexis Denisof ) , who had also originated on Buffy but who became so much more compelling on Angel .
Wesley ( an effete Brit played by an American ) joins late in season one , and his character arc takes him from largely helpless naif to hugely competent monster slayer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be at odds with Angel for supernatural reasons across the show ’ s five seasons .
But there are so many other good characters on this show too , from a demon who can intuit things about you from hearing you sing karaoke to a human woman from Earth who became lost in another dimension and slowly unraveled , only for Angel and company to bring her back .
When the show ’ s ensemble is mostly in place in its third season , Angel really starts cooking with gas .
What makes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ particular moment — and I mean “ this particular moment ” beyond just the Covid-19 of it all — is the way in which it talks about capitalism and corporations as a corrupting force .
Across the series ’ 110 episodes , Angel and his friends go from outsiders challenging the supernatural order to insiders who ’ ve been literally co-opted by that system , saying they ’ re working to change it but also realizing at every turn how badly they ’ re failing at that .
That invigorating fifth season is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to all-timer for me , and it can largely be watched in isolation , if you ’ re so inclined .
( It will help to know about the character relationships going in , but I know how little time you have . )
In particular , the series ’ final episode is one of the boldest TV finales I ’ ve ever seen , daring to make the audience believe that the show was canceled unjustly in the name of suggesting that the fight to make the world a more equitable place @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was recently talking with a friend about how geeky women who grew up in the 1990s will always have to reckon with the ways that our pop culture tastes have been shaped irretrievably by Whedon , one of the best storytellers TV has ever seen but one who isn ’ t always aware of his own shortcomings when it comes to telling those stories .
Angel is a series that stands out because it saw its own shortcomings and kept trying to change them .
From its willingness to keep reinventing itself in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ways its creators ’ larger fears about propping up blood-sucking corporations become baked into the very text , it is a show that somehow never stops feeling relevant , even though it ended in 2004 .
Angel speaks to the here and now because the fight , such as it is , never ends .
Angel is available to stream in its entirety on Hulu .
One Good Thing is Vox ’ s recommendations feature .
In each edition , find one more thing from the world of culture that we highly recommend @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 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 staff @ @ @ @ @ @ @ videos , and podcasts at the quality and volume that this moment requires .
Please consider making a contribution to Vox today .

One Good Thing is Vox’s recommendations feature. In each edition, find one more thing from the world of culture that we highly recommend.
In the canon of shows created or co-created by Joss Whedon, Angel might be the problem son. Buffy is more obviously perfect, Firefly has that underdog charm, and Dollhouse is the weirdo youngest child who does whatever she wants. Angel? Angel hasn’t moved out of your basement. He broke your coffee table. He’s a little surly and all over the place, yes. But he has a good heart, ultimately, and you could never stay mad at him for long.
The comparison of this series to a child who cannot leave his parents’ basement because the world economy is in the gutter for the second time in his life is even more apt than I realized when I first made it: Angel speaks to our current era better than any other Whedon series. It’s time to let this oddball private eye show/rumination on the problems inherent to capitalism and the corporate state, a show with one of the best finales ever made, have its moment in the sun.
(Except not literally in the sun, because Angel is a vampire, and he probably wouldn’t appreciate that.)
Angel is a show about how working within the system inevitably corrupts — and yet we’re all doomed to work within the system
When it began in 1999, Angel took Buffy Summers’s brooding and handsome vampire love interest (David Boreanaz, an actor whose big break came because he was literally so hot, he made a casting agent approach him out on the street) and moved him to Los Angeles from the smaller city of Sunnydale.
Whedon and David Greenwalt, Whedon’s right hand on the first three seasons of Buffy, first imagined Angel as a supernatural spin on the private-eye drama. Each week, Angel and his associates would take a new case that inevitably had something to do with vampires or other ghouls, and the series’ larger mythology, involving a mysterious law firm named Wolfram & Hart that had ties to the occult, would inch forward.
That ... didn’t really last. Angel’s early going is a little stiff and boring, so Whedon and Greenwalt decided to shake things up. And keep shaking them up. And keep shaking them up.
One of the things that makes Angel so fun is that it’s essentially a completely different show with each new season. The first year is that straightforward PI show, while year two brushes up against glum ensemble drama. Season three is more of an antihero drama, where Angel’s dark and terrible past keeps coming back to haunt him, and season four is a byzantine blender that throws dozens of plot elements into its soup and completely falls apart. Finally, season five is a workplace drama (??) where Angel and his pals become lawyers (???).
The show began simply, with Angel and fellow Buffy transplant Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter) working in Los Angeles. (It’s here that I’ll note that Carpenter has strongly suggested she was eventually fired from the show in its fourth season for getting pregnant, something that nobody involved in the series has really refuted, so ... about Joss Whedon’s reputation for progressive feminism ... ) Very quickly, however, the series’ writers realized that one of the strengths of Buffy was its deep ensemble cast, and they began adding more and more new and crossover characters for Angel and Cordelia to bounce off of in the hope of recreating that same magic.
My favorite of these characters was Wesley Wyndham-Pryce (Alexis Denisof), who had also originated on Buffy but who became so much more compelling on Angel. Wesley (an effete Brit played by an American) joins late in season one, and his character arc takes him from largely helpless naif to hugely competent monster slayer. Wesley is also sometimes forced to be at odds with Angel for supernatural reasons across the show’s five seasons.
But there are so many other good characters on this show too, from a demon who can intuit things about you from hearing you sing karaoke to a human woman from Earth who became lost in another dimension and slowly unraveled, only for Angel and company to bring her back. When the show’s ensemble is mostly in place in its third season, Angel really starts cooking with gas.
What makes Angel such a good fit for this particular moment — and I mean “this particular moment” beyond just the Covid-19 of it all — is the way in which it talks about capitalism and corporations as a corrupting force. Across the series’ 110 episodes, Angel and his friends go from outsiders challenging the supernatural order to insiders who’ve been literally co-opted by that system, saying they’re working to change it but also realizing at every turn how badly they’re failing at that.
That invigorating fifth season is what takes Angel from enjoyable TV show to all-timer for me, and it can largely be watched in isolation, if you’re so inclined. (It will help to know about the character relationships going in, but I know how little time you have.) In particular, the series’ final episode is one of the boldest TV finales I’ve ever seen, daring to make the audience believe that the show was canceled unjustly in the name of suggesting that the fight to make the world a more equitable place will never, ever stop.
I was recently talking with a friend about how geeky women who grew up in the 1990s will always have to reckon with the ways that our pop culture tastes have been shaped irretrievably by Whedon, one of the best storytellers TV has ever seen but one who isn’t always aware of his own shortcomings when it comes to telling those stories. Angel is a series that stands out because it saw its own shortcomings and kept trying to change them. From its willingness to keep reinventing itself in the name of improved quality to the ways its creators’ larger fears about propping up blood-sucking corporations become baked into the very text, it is a show that somehow never stops feeling relevant, even though it ended in 2004. Angel speaks to the here and now because the fight, such as it is, never ends.
Angel is available to stream in its entirety on Hulu.


vox--2020-05-12--Dr. Anthony Fauci, explained

Dr. Anthony Fauci, explained

Dr. Anthony Fauci has become one of the most recognizable faces of America ’ s coronavirus response , as a member of the White House coronavirus task force and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases .
But it was an earlier crisis that shaped his career — and that ’ s crucial to understanding his position today .
As the above video shows , Dr. Fauci ’ s involvement in the AIDS crisis , from the virus ’ s discovery to the present day , has affected the course of his career and the way the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ That history , in turn , informs how we learn about and treat the coronavirus in the US today .
In addition to scientific progress , AIDS also necessitated bureaucratic changes in the government response to the disease .
By negotiating these challenges , Dr. Fauci secured his place in the public health system and changed the way AIDS was treated .
Watch the above video to learn how .
You can find this video and all of Vox ’ s videos on YouTube , including our coverage of the coronavirus .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our video journalism , you can become a member of the Vox Video Lab on YouTube .
A topic as broad as the AIDS crisis , even narrowed to Dr. Fauci ’ s involvement , could have an endless reading list , from primary sources like ACT UP ’ s historical archive or one of Dr. Fauci ’ s early lectures on AIDS .
However , these books provide particularly useful context on a complex story .
• Against the Odds : The Story of of AIDS Drug Development , Politics , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This book provides an exhaustive tour of the AIDS crisis from a drug research perspective , with extensive coverage of the NIH and FDA .
• Big Shot : Passion , Politics , and the Struggle for an AIDS Vaccine by Patricia Thomas This book extends beyond the 1980s period covered in this video to explore the long search for an AIDS vaccine .
It ’ s highly useful as a history of pharmaceutical and government efforts .
• How to Survive a Plague by David France This book , and the documentary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ activist history of the crisis with plenty of research into the government response .
• AIDS at 30 : A History by Victoria Harden and Anthony A. Fauci Written by a former NIH history director and Dr. Fauci , this is something like an “ official ” history of the AIDs crisis , from the beginning to the book ’ s 2012 publication date .
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 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 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 consider making a contribution to Vox today @

Dr. Anthony Fauci has become one of the most recognizable faces of America’s coronavirus response, as a member of the White House coronavirus task force and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. But it was an earlier crisis that shaped his career — and that’s crucial to understanding his position today.
As the above video shows, Dr. Fauci’s involvement in the AIDS crisis, from the virus’s discovery to the present day, has affected the course of his career and the way the disease is treated around the world. That history, in turn, informs how we learn about and treat the coronavirus in the US today.
In addition to scientific progress, AIDS also necessitated bureaucratic changes in the government response to the disease. By negotiating these challenges, Dr. Fauci secured his place in the public health system and changed the way AIDS was treated.
Watch the above video to learn how.
You can find this video and all of Vox’s videos on YouTube, including our coverage of the coronavirus. And if you’re interested in supporting our video journalism, you can become a member of the Vox Video Lab on YouTube.
Further Reading
A topic as broad as the AIDS crisis, even narrowed to Dr. Fauci’s involvement, could have an endless reading list, from primary sources like ACT UP’s historical archive or one of Dr. Fauci’s early lectures on AIDS.
However, these books provide particularly useful context on a complex story.
Against the Odds: The Story of of AIDS Drug Development, Politics, and Profits by Peter Arno and Karyn Feiden
This book provides an exhaustive tour of the AIDS crisis from a drug research perspective, with extensive coverage of the NIH and FDA.
This book extends beyond the 1980s period covered in this video to explore the long search for an AIDS vaccine. It’s highly useful as a history of pharmaceutical and government efforts.
How to Survive a Plague by David France
This book, and the documentary of the same name, describe the activist history of the crisis with plenty of research into the government response.
AIDS at 30: A History by Victoria Harden and Anthony A. Fauci
Written by a former NIH history director and Dr. Fauci, this is something like an “official” history of the AIDs crisis, from the beginning to the book’s 2012 publication date.


vox--2020-05-12--Poll: Prominent governors who want to reopen quickly aren’t so popular

Many state governors have seen their popularity — and approval ratings — soar since the start of the coronavirus pandemic .
But according to a new poll , how popular individual governors are seems to depend on how quickly they took steps to prevent the spread of the virus and whether they ’ ve thus far delayed reopening .
A Washington Post-Ipsos poll of 8,086 US adults , with a margin of error of 1 percentage point , showed that state leaders like Democratic California Gov .
Gavin Newsom and Republican Ohio Gov .
Mike DeWine — who each took @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s economies quickly and have prioritized public health throughout the pandemic — are incredibly popular in their home states .
Almost 8 in 10 ( 79 percent ) of adults in California approved of Newsom ’ s handling of the pandemic , while 86 percent of Ohioans approve of DeWine ’ s handling of the pandemic .
On the flip side , of the dozen states included in the polling , people appear less happy with some Republican governors who acted slowly in response to the virus and are now rushing to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Republican Gov .
Brian Kemp was one of the last governors to shut down for public health , and he ’ s now taken the lead among states looking to reopen .
His coronavirus response approval rating sits at just 39 percent .
Likewise , in Florida , 60 percent of adults give Gov .
Ron DeSantis a positive rating , but one that ’ s far below his more cautious conservative counterpart , DeWine .
In short , the April 27 to May 4 poll seems to indicate that whether constituents approve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the pandemic is much less about partisanship than whether people think their governor is acting in the public good to prevent the spread of the virus .
People are still more scared of reopening too quickly and risking a second wave of new Covid-19 infections and are punishing more aggressive governors for trying to reopen too soon .
Nearly half ( 48 percent ) of Floridians , 59 percent of Texans , and 65 percent of Georgians said their states are reopening too quickly .
This helps explain why Democratic governors , despite @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mostly remained popular or seen their approval ratings surge throughout the pandemic .
Overall , governors are drawing majority support from both major parties , with 71 percent of adults approving of their governors ’ performances .
In contrast , President Donald Trump is much less popular than the average governor , drawing only 43 percent approval — though it divides sharply along partisan lines .
More than 8 in 10 Republicans approve of the president ’ s handling of the crisis , and 9 in 10 Democrats disapprove .
Every day at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 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 staff to continue to offer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the quality and volume that this moment requires .
Please consider making a contribution to Vox today .

Many state governors have seen their popularity — and approval ratings — soar since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. But according to a new poll, how popular individual governors are seems to depend on how quickly they took steps to prevent the spread of the virus and whether they’ve thus far delayed reopening.
A Washington Post-Ipsos poll of 8,086 US adults, with a margin of error of 1 percentage point, showed that state leaders like Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine — who each took swift action to shut down their state’s economies quickly and have prioritized public health throughout the pandemic — are incredibly popular in their home states.
Almost 8 in 10 (79 percent) of adults in California approved of Newsom’s handling of the pandemic, while 86 percent of Ohioans approve of DeWine’s handling of the pandemic.
On the flip side, of the dozen states included in the polling, people appear less happy with some Republican governors who acted slowly in response to the virus and are now rushing to reopen the economy. In Georgia, Republican Gov. Brian Kemp was one of the last governors to shut down for public health, and he’s now taken the lead among states looking to reopen. His coronavirus response approval rating sits at just 39 percent. Likewise, in Florida, 60 percent of adults give Gov. Ron DeSantis a positive rating, but one that’s far below his more cautious conservative counterpart, DeWine.
In short, the April 27 to May 4 poll seems to indicate that whether constituents approve of a governor’s handling of the pandemic is much less about partisanship than whether people think their governor is acting in the public good to prevent the spread of the virus.
People are still more scared of reopening too quickly and risking a second wave of new Covid-19 infections and are punishing more aggressive governors for trying to reopen too soon. Nearly half (48 percent) of Floridians, 59 percent of Texans, and 65 percent of Georgians said their states are reopening too quickly.
This helps explain why Democratic governors, despite facing widely covered anti-shelter-at-home-order protests, have mostly remained popular or seen their approval ratings surge throughout the pandemic.
Overall, governors are drawing majority support from both major parties, with 71 percent of adults approving of their governors’ performances. In contrast, President Donald Trump is much less popular than the average governor, drawing only 43 percent approval — though it divides sharply along partisan lines. More than 8 in 10 Republicans approve of the president’s handling of the crisis, and 9 in 10 Democrats disapprove.