vox--2020-08-20--Ordinary Americans stole the show at this year’s Democratic convention

Michele Beebe ’ s Cookie Monster scrubs made her message about wanting her “ kiddos ” to go back to school — but not until it ’ s safe — go viral .
“ It ’ s kind of sad not to see the kiddos when we ’ re back , but I know that that will change , ” she said during the first night of the Democratic National Convention .
Beebe , a school nurse from Texas , appeared at the convention virtually , by invitation from her local teachers association .
The 43-year-old mother of three took @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the convention in an interview with actress Eva Longoria Baston , and the scrubs her husband helped her pick out ( and that her son “ loves ” ) were not only a topic of discussion on Twitter but became a joke on host Stephen Colbert ’ s show .
Beebe described the whole experience to me as “ surreal.
” This year , the big star of the Democratic National Convention wasn ’ t some up-and-coming politician .
Instead , ordinary Americans appeared this week alongside some of the Democratic Party @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Barack Obama , Joe and Jill Biden , Kamala Harris , Bernie Sanders , Elizabeth Warren .
All conventions try to incorporate ordinary voters and activists , but this year ’ s virtual convention leveled regular folks up to the importance of politicians .
It was these people who made some of the most memorable moments at the DNC by far .
Early in the week , viewers got to know Jacquelyn Brittany , the New York security guard who nominated Biden for the White House after meeting him in an elevator earlier @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the young woman whose father died of Covid-19 .
“ The coronavirus has made it clear that there are two Americas : the America Donald Trump lives in , and the America that my father died in , ” she said on night one .
On Thursday , the last hour of the convention featured a heartbreakingly sweet video from Brayden Harrington , a 13-year-old boy who , like Biden , has a stutter and met the former vice president at a campaign stop in New Hampshire .
“ He told me we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
We stutter , ” Harrington said .
And there was a roll call , which in the digital format translated to a series of charming and diverse presentations from across the country as states and territories cast their votes for the nomination .
There ’ s something powerful in those people telling their own stories of what ’ s happening in the country .
Instead of Joe Biden talking about Jeff from Missouri who was worried about losing his health care , isn ’ t it better to hear from Jeff himself @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a number , it ’ s your neighbor .
Domestic violence isn ’ t a statistic , it ’ s a woman who experiences it firsthand , as viewers heard in a voiceover of a video shown on Wednesday : “ The first episode was a slap to the face , and he broke my eardrum.
” The all-virtual setting captured something that felt new about the “ ordinary American.
” It ’ s one thing for someone who isn ’ t accustomed to public speaking to talk for 10 minutes in front @ @ @ @ @ @ @ another thing to send a 30-second video from their phones or set up a video chat from their living rooms .
Democrats wanted to highlight what ’ s at stake right now : everyday lives and livelihoods .
What better way to do that than showcasing those lives and livelihoods up close ?
“ I spoke from the heart .
I guess they picked me.
” The convention featured non-politicians in two main formats : virtual videos and interviews that had a more formal touch , and interstitials of voters talking to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ themes .
Those who took part in the more formal sit-downs were often people organizers sought out and who have publicly talked about certain issues in the past .
That ’ s the case for Steve Gomez , a 39-year-old man from Arizona .
Gomez ’ s son Anthony , now 4 , was born with a heart condition in 2015 and wound up needing a heart transplant , which was covered by the Affordable Care Act .
After Trump was elected in 2017 , Gomez began talking about his family ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ then in more public settings .
When the DNC reached out to him in July and asked him to participate in a virtual roundtable discussion about health care , it was an obvious yes , to get his message out about protecting the ACA .
“ It ’ s my son and it ’ s families like ours , ” he told me .
“ This administration that we ’ re currently trying to deal with is attacking families like ours when it comes to health care.
” The day we talked , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aired , he was at work in the field driving between construction sites .
“ This was never my plan , ” he said of his foray into the political sphere .
For other people who showed up in the convention , the experience was more serendipitous .
In June , the DNC set up a hub for people to record and submit videos of themselves responding to different prompts — explaining why they ’ re voting for Biden , why the election is important to them , what they want to see @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s something really unifying about seeing how other people are getting through this ” “ We thought it was a huge opportunity for people to really hear from each other and use the megaphone of the convention to introduce Americans from around the country to each other , ” said Lindsay Holst , a senior adviser to the convention .
“ There ’ s something really unifying about seeing how other people are getting through this.
” Heading into the convention , there were more than 1,000 videos submitted , and since @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an influx of more .
When people submitted their videos , they were informed that their content could be used , but there were no guarantees — meaning some of the people who appeared didn ’ t know they were going to appear until they showed up onscreen .
DeMarcus Gilliard , a 34-year-old Marine veteran , sent in a video of himself talking about his support for Biden while sitting in his car over the summer .
“ I took an oath to support , uphold , and defend the Constitution of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I know that Joe Biden in his years of public service took a similar oath , ” he said at the time .
He had an inkling it might wind up being used at some point during the week because organizers had reached out to him with some follow-up , but he wasn ’ t sure exactly how .
His video became the lead-up to former Secretary of State John Kerry ’ s Tuesday address .
“ I had uploaded a video a few weeks ago just speaking my mind about what I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the heart .
I guess they picked me , ” he said .
“ I was taken off guard in the best way possible.
” Gilliard , who now works for a cybersecurity company in Los Angeles , volunteered for Beto O ’ Rourke in the Democratic primary and took part in one of the campaign ’ s podcast episodes .
He considers this just another step on his journey into being more active in politics and elections .
“ I just felt compelled to use my voice .
Why stay silent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he said .
“ I think we should just do it like this all the time ” The Democrats ’ 2020 message is a somewhat awkward mix of rah-rah and doom .
They ’ re trying to fire people up with excitement about the future while also delivering a serious warning about what ’ s at stake .
Get inspired by images of the 2017 Women ’ s March , but also think of how bad you ’ ll feel if you ’ re out marching against Trump in January 2021 .
From @ @ @ @ @ @ @ remember the Rhode Island calamari , and others will remember the parents of Matthew Shepard , the young gay man who was beaten and murdered in 1998 , casting the votes for Wyoming .
Highlighting ordinary people and less prominent figures is a way to strike a balance on the messaging and blend lighter elements with more serious ones .
It also sends a lot of different signals , even ones that won ’ t be perceived by everyone .
( And , obviously , ones that are planned . )
Laura Packard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Denver , was featured in the health care roundtable with Gomez .
“ Ever since I was diagnosed , every night , I ’ d go to bed concerned about what news I would get in the morning .
And even still , even today , they ’ re still trying to take away our health care .
Even during a pandemic , ” she said during a pretaped interview with Biden .
Packard isn ’ t at all new on the political circuit — she ’ s been active in Democratic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a consultant .
When organizers reached out to her to participate , they almost certainly knew she could be a compelling speaker and that her story would draw people in .
( She told me she wanted to “ make sure people understood how much is at stake this fall.
” ) Organizers also recognized most people probably wouldn ’ t know she wasn ’ t just someone plucked off the street or have a sense of her background , but perhaps someone important might — as in , the president .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after she tweeted at him about health care .
One of the more delightful standouts from the roll call was Maine Rep. Craig Hickman , who announced his state ’ s votes from the farm he runs with his husband .
“ My American dream ?
I ’ m living it .
A 25-acre organic farm on a lake , a roadside farm stand , and a bed-and-breakfast .
My husband and I aren ’ t corporate tycoons .
We just want to make an honest living and feed our community , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tuesday .
Hickman , 52 , is originally from Milwaukee , where the convention was supposed to be held , and his appearance is a nod not only to Maine but also to his hometown .
He told me filming was a bit tricky — they wanted to get the barn and corn in , but they also had to be within reach of extension cords — and they ultimately had to scrap getting the goat in the frame .
( Luckily , the Montana farmer had cows in her background . )
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ across America ” “ I think we should do it like this all the time , even if it ’ s a virtual convention , ” he said .
“ The roll call should be shot across America.
” This is a way to draw people into the process and highlight one of Biden ’ s strengths One of Biden ’ s most important political calling cards is that he is good with people .
His ability to connect with ordinary Americans has been central to his presidential pitch .
In the midst @ @ @ @ @ @ @ apart , highlighting that is not an easy thing to do .
Part of the convention ’ s format is a way to address that .
“ The DNC is showcasing who will be top of mind for Joe Biden when he is making his most important decisions in the Oval Office : the people , ” said campaign spokesperson Rosemary Boeglin in a statement .
“ Everyday Americans have shown leadership , resolve and grit in this crisis while the Trump administration has waved the white flag.
” There are indications that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ similar route .
According to a report from CNN , the president ’ s aides are searching out regular people to tell some of their personal stories .
At the DNC , the virtual , people-heavy format was a way to draw people together in a way that felt comforting and unique .
Most of us have been unable to go about our everyday lives for months .
The experience is both entirely collective and incredibly isolating .
We ’ re all in this together , but it sure doesn ’ t feel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that , as my colleague Emily VanDerWerff explained : Would a people-heavy virtual convention work so well in normal times ?
It ’ s not clear — but then again , in normal times , a virtual gathering wouldn ’ t be happening .
The thing about lifting up ordinary people in the public sphere is that they bring real , personal moments that formal trappings don ’ t always allow , even if sometimes orchestrated .
That Rhode Island calamari chef who became a viral sensation ?
Turns out he ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for Biden .
Jacquelyn Brittany , the security guard who nominated Biden , had no idea that ’ s the path she would take when she blurted out , “ I love you , ” on an elevator ride with the former vice president back in January .
The pandemic has revealed all of us to be who we truly are , which is , at the core , profoundly human .
We ’ ve spent all this time in a charade in our public and professional lives , pretending there ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re worried about or a dog we think might need to go out , or , honestly , pining for a pair of sweatpants we would much rather be wearing .
We ’ re all experiencing this together , so why not be open about it ?
Even showcase it ?
Politics is ultimately about people , and this week , we ’ ve really been able to see that .
On the convention ’ s opening night , after the introductory prayer , the first person to appear onscreen , after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Richardson , a restaurant owner in Pennsylvania .
He voted for Trump in 2016 and met Biden as part of a business roundtable in Pennsylvania in June .
During the pandemic , his restaurant ’ s sales have fallen by 40 percent .
When I spoke with Richardson , he told me how Biden won him over .
At the roundtable , a woman talked about losing her mother to Covid-19 , and Biden ’ s reaction really got to him .
“ I can tell you from someone that ’ s been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be a point in your life where the memory of your mom is going to bring a smile to your face rather than a tear to your eye , ” he recalls Biden saying .
“ Have you ever been someplace that something outside of yourself puts you in there for a reason ?
” He told me how surprised he was to be featured so early in the convention and was generally pretty bemused — he ’ s an “ average Joe , only an average Scott.
” He described how his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Have you ever been someplace that something outside of yourself puts you in there for a reason ?
” he said .
“ That was my day ; I was put there for a reason to hear him say that , to have me be so touched by it that I am 100 percent behind him , to the point where I ’ m taking a business that we ’ ve had for 31 years that I ’ m putting out there.
” Will you become our 20,000th supporter ?
When the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and we started asking readers for financial contributions , we weren ’ t sure how it would go .
Today , we ’ re humbled to say that nearly 20,000 people have chipped in .
The reason is both lovely and surprising : Readers told us that they contribute both because they value explanation and because they value that other people can access it , too .
We have always believed that explanatory journalism is vital for a functioning democracy .
That ’ s never been more important than today , during a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a recession , and a presidential election .
But our distinctive explanatory journalism is expensive , and advertising alone won ’ t let us keep creating it at the quality and volume this moment requires .
Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation , but it will help keep Vox free for all .
Contribute today from as little as $ 3 .

Michele Beebe’s Cookie Monster scrubs made her message about wanting her “kiddos” to go back to school — but not until it’s safe — go viral. “It’s kind of sad not to see the kiddos when we’re back, but I know that that will change,” she said during the first night of the Democratic National Convention.
Beebe, a school nurse from Texas, appeared at the convention virtually, by invitation from her local teachers association. The 43-year-old mother of three took part in one of the opening segments of the convention in an interview with actress Eva Longoria Baston, and the scrubs her husband helped her pick out (and that her son “loves”) were not only a topic of discussion on Twitter but became a joke on host Stephen Colbert’s show. Beebe described the whole experience to me as “surreal.”
This year, the big star of the Democratic National Convention wasn’t some up-and-coming politician. Instead, ordinary Americans appeared this week alongside some of the Democratic Party’s biggest stars — Michelle and Barack Obama, Joe and Jill Biden, Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren. All conventions try to incorporate ordinary voters and activists, but this year’s virtual convention leveled regular folks up to the importance of politicians. It was these people who made some of the most memorable moments at the DNC by far.
Early in the week, viewers got to know Jacquelyn Brittany, the New York security guard who nominated Biden for the White House after meeting him in an elevator earlier this year, and Kristin Urquiza, the young woman whose father died of Covid-19. “The coronavirus has made it clear that there are two Americas: the America Donald Trump lives in, and the America that my father died in,” she said on night one.
On Thursday, the last hour of the convention featured a heartbreakingly sweet video from Brayden Harrington, a 13-year-old boy who, like Biden, has a stutter and met the former vice president at a campaign stop in New Hampshire. “He told me we’re members of the same club. We stutter,” Harrington said.
And there was a roll call, which in the digital format translated to a series of charming and diverse presentations from across the country as states and territories cast their votes for the nomination.
There’s something powerful in those people telling their own stories of what’s happening in the country. Instead of Joe Biden talking about Jeff from Missouri who was worried about losing his health care, isn’t it better to hear from Jeff himself? The unemployment rate isn’t a number, it’s your neighbor. Domestic violence isn’t a statistic, it’s a woman who experiences it firsthand, as viewers heard in a voiceover of a video shown on Wednesday: “The first episode was a slap to the face, and he broke my eardrum.”
The all-virtual setting captured something that felt new about the “ordinary American.” It’s one thing for someone who isn’t accustomed to public speaking to talk for 10 minutes in front of an audience; it’s another thing to send a 30-second video from their phones or set up a video chat from their living rooms. Democrats wanted to highlight what’s at stake right now: everyday lives and livelihoods. What better way to do that than showcasing those lives and livelihoods up close?
“I spoke from the heart. I guess they picked me.”
The convention featured non-politicians in two main formats: virtual videos and interviews that had a more formal touch, and interstitials of voters talking to the camera about a variety of issues and themes.
Those who took part in the more formal sit-downs were often people organizers sought out and who have publicly talked about certain issues in the past. That’s the case for Steve Gomez, a 39-year-old man from Arizona. Gomez’s son Anthony, now 4, was born with a heart condition in 2015 and wound up needing a heart transplant, which was covered by the Affordable Care Act. After Trump was elected in 2017, Gomez began talking about his family’s experience publicly, first on Facebook and then in more public settings.
When the DNC reached out to him in July and asked him to participate in a virtual roundtable discussion about health care, it was an obvious yes, to get his message out about protecting the ACA. “It’s my son and it’s families like ours,” he told me. “This administration that we’re currently trying to deal with is attacking families like ours when it comes to health care.”
The day we talked, two days after Gomez’s segment aired, he was at work in the field driving between construction sites. “This was never my plan,” he said of his foray into the political sphere.
For other people who showed up in the convention, the experience was more serendipitous. In June, the DNC set up a hub for people to record and submit videos of themselves responding to different prompts — explaining why they’re voting for Biden, why the election is important to them, what they want to see in the next president.
“There’s something really unifying about seeing how other people are getting through this”
“We thought it was a huge opportunity for people to really hear from each other and use the megaphone of the convention to introduce Americans from around the country to each other,” said Lindsay Holst, a senior adviser to the convention. “There’s something really unifying about seeing how other people are getting through this.”
Heading into the convention, there were more than 1,000 videos submitted, and since it began, there’s been an influx of more.
When people submitted their videos, they were informed that their content could be used, but there were no guarantees — meaning some of the people who appeared didn’t know they were going to appear until they showed up onscreen.
DeMarcus Gilliard, a 34-year-old Marine veteran, sent in a video of himself talking about his support for Biden while sitting in his car over the summer. “I took an oath to support, uphold, and defend the Constitution of the United States of America. And I know that Joe Biden in his years of public service took a similar oath,” he said at the time.
He had an inkling it might wind up being used at some point during the week because organizers had reached out to him with some follow-up, but he wasn’t sure exactly how. His video became the lead-up to former Secretary of State John Kerry’s Tuesday address.
“I had uploaded a video a few weeks ago just speaking my mind about what I know about Joe, and I spoke from the heart. I guess they picked me,” he said. “I was taken off guard in the best way possible.”
Gilliard, who now works for a cybersecurity company in Los Angeles, volunteered for Beto O’Rourke in the Democratic primary and took part in one of the campaign’s podcast episodes. He considers this just another step on his journey into being more active in politics and elections. “I just felt compelled to use my voice. Why stay silent when you can say something?” he said.
“I think we should just do it like this all the time”
The Democrats’ 2020 message is a somewhat awkward mix of rah-rah and doom. They’re trying to fire people up with excitement about the future while also delivering a serious warning about what’s at stake. Get inspired by images of the 2017 Women’s March, but also think of how bad you’ll feel if you’re out marching against Trump in January 2021. From the roll call, some people will remember the Rhode Island calamari, and others will remember the parents of Matthew Shepard, the young gay man who was beaten and murdered in 1998, casting the votes for Wyoming.
Highlighting ordinary people and less prominent figures is a way to strike a balance on the messaging and blend lighter elements with more serious ones. It also sends a lot of different signals, even ones that won’t be perceived by everyone. (And, obviously, ones that are planned.)
Laura Packard, a 44-year-old cancer survivor who lives in Denver, was featured in the health care roundtable with Gomez. “Ever since I was diagnosed, every night, I’d go to bed concerned about what news I would get in the morning. And even still, even today, they’re still trying to take away our health care. Even during a pandemic,” she said during a pretaped interview with Biden.
Packard isn’t at all new on the political circuit — she’s been active in Democratic politics for years and now works as a consultant. When organizers reached out to her to participate, they almost certainly knew she could be a compelling speaker and that her story would draw people in. (She told me she wanted to “make sure people understood how much is at stake this fall.”) Organizers also recognized most people probably wouldn’t know she wasn’t just someone plucked off the street or have a sense of her background, but perhaps someone important might — as in, the president. In 2017, Trump blocked her on Twitter after she tweeted at him about health care.
One of the more delightful standouts from the roll call was Maine Rep. Craig Hickman, who announced his state’s votes from the farm he runs with his husband. “My American dream? I’m living it. A 25-acre organic farm on a lake, a roadside farm stand, and a bed-and-breakfast. My husband and I aren’t corporate tycoons. We just want to make an honest living and feed our community,” he said in the video shown on Tuesday.
Hickman, 52, is originally from Milwaukee, where the convention was supposed to be held, and his appearance is a nod not only to Maine but also to his hometown. He told me filming was a bit tricky — they wanted to get the barn and corn in, but they also had to be within reach of extension cords — and they ultimately had to scrap getting the goat in the frame. (Luckily, the Montana farmer had cows in her background.)
“The roll call should be shot across America”
“I think we should do it like this all the time, even if it’s a virtual convention,” he said. “The roll call should be shot across America.”
This is a way to draw people into the process and highlight one of Biden’s strengths
One of Biden’s most important political calling cards is that he is good with people. His ability to connect with ordinary Americans has been central to his presidential pitch. In the midst of a pandemic that is keeping everyone apart, highlighting that is not an easy thing to do. Part of the convention’s format is a way to address that.
“The DNC is showcasing who will be top of mind for Joe Biden when he is making his most important decisions in the Oval Office: the people,” said campaign spokesperson Rosemary Boeglin in a statement. “Everyday Americans have shown leadership, resolve and grit in this crisis while the Trump administration has waved the white flag.”
There are indications that the RNC is likely to take a similar route. According to a report from CNN, the president’s aides are searching out regular people to tell some of their personal stories.
At the DNC, the virtual, people-heavy format was a way to draw people together in a way that felt comforting and unique. Most of us have been unable to go about our everyday lives for months. The experience is both entirely collective and incredibly isolating. We’re all in this together, but it sure doesn’t feel like it. The convention played into that, as my colleague Emily VanDerWerff explained:
We can talk about the individual aesthetic choices of the 2020 DNC’s filmmaking because it is the rare live event where those aesthetics have had to be carefully considered and thought out. But everything about them is overwhelmed by the reason they have to exist. To watch this convention is to confront, on live television, everything that has changed and to long for a world that existed just six months ago.
Would a people-heavy virtual convention work so well in normal times? It’s not clear — but then again, in normal times, a virtual gathering wouldn’t be happening.
The thing about lifting up ordinary people in the public sphere is that they bring real, personal moments that formal trappings don’t always allow, even if sometimes orchestrated. That Rhode Island calamari chef who became a viral sensation? Turns out he’s not even sure he’ll vote for Biden. Jacquelyn Brittany, the security guard who nominated Biden, had no idea that’s the path she would take when she blurted out, “I love you,” on an elevator ride with the former vice president back in January.
Honored to have won Jacquelyn's endorsement. pic.twitter.com/tGpNZjXacu — Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) January 20, 2020
The pandemic has revealed all of us to be who we truly are, which is, at the core, profoundly human. We’ve spent all this time in a charade in our public and professional lives, pretending there’s not a sick child at home we’re worried about or a dog we think might need to go out, or, honestly, pining for a pair of sweatpants we would much rather be wearing. We’re all experiencing this together, so why not be open about it? Even showcase it?
Politics is ultimately about people, and this week, we’ve really been able to see that.
On the convention’s opening night, after the introductory prayer, the first person to appear onscreen, after actress Eva Longoria Baston, was Scott Richardson, a restaurant owner in Pennsylvania. He voted for Trump in 2016 and met Biden as part of a business roundtable in Pennsylvania in June. During the pandemic, his restaurant’s sales have fallen by 40 percent.
When I spoke with Richardson, he told me how Biden won him over. At the roundtable, a woman talked about losing her mother to Covid-19, and Biden’s reaction really got to him. “I can tell you from someone that’s been there, there’s going to be a point in your life where the memory of your mom is going to bring a smile to your face rather than a tear to your eye,” he recalls Biden saying.
“Have you ever been someplace that something outside of yourself puts you in there for a reason?”
He told me how surprised he was to be featured so early in the convention and was generally pretty bemused — he’s an “average Joe, only an average Scott.” He described how his personal experience with Biden moved him.
“Have you ever been someplace that something outside of yourself puts you in there for a reason?” he said. “That was my day; I was put there for a reason to hear him say that, to have me be so touched by it that I am 100 percent behind him, to the point where I’m taking a business that we’ve had for 31 years that I’m putting out there.”
Will you become our 20,000th supporter? When the economy took a downturn in the spring and we started asking readers for financial contributions, we weren’t sure how it would go. Today, we’re humbled to say that nearly 20,000 people have chipped in. The reason is both lovely and surprising: Readers told us that they contribute both because they value explanation and because they value that other people can access it, too. We have always believed that explanatory journalism is vital for a functioning democracy. That’s never been more important than today, during a public health crisis, racial justice protests, a recession, and a presidential election. But our distinctive explanatory journalism is expensive, and advertising alone won’t let us keep creating it at the quality and volume this moment requires. Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation, but it will help keep Vox free for all. Contribute today from as little as $3.


vox--2020-08-21--What makes California’s current major wildfires so unusual

A stunning , sudden surge of wildfires is burning through California , threatening towns and sending choking smoke over major cities and across much of the United States .
It ’ s creating an epic compounding disaster whose ingredients have been brewing for years .
Fire officials have grouped some of the smaller fires in an area into complexes to coordinate their response .
The largest of these is the SCU Lightning Complex .
It ’ s burned 229,000 acres as of Friday morning across parts of the southern San Francisco Bay Area , including Santa Clara and Alameda counties @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 10 percent contained , but officials expect “ critical rates of spread ” as winds pick up .
To the north , the LNU Lighting Complex near Napa has killed at least four people , burned more than 219,000 acres , and destroyed or damaged 600 structures .
Thousands were forced to evacuate .
The fire was 7 percent contained as of Friday morning , and officials anticipate the flames will spread further .
These are just two of dozens of large fires currently raging across the Golden State .
Together , all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ acres in California in just under a week .
It ’ s not just the size of the fires that ’ s so concerning ; some of the blazes are in coastal areas that don ’ t burn very often , threatening the state ’ s iconic redwoods .
The blazes were ignited by a massive dry lightning storm earlier this week over many parts of the state but concentrated in the San Francisco Bay Area .
“ We had close to 11,000 strikes in a matter of three days , ” said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection ( Cal Fire ) .
“ With an already-warm weather pattern and very , very dry conditions here in California , with those lightning strikes coming through , over 367 new fires were started.
” Smoke , soot , and ash from the fires also shrouded Northern California in the dirtiest air in the world at several points during the week .
Wildfires are nothing new for Californians , and many are wearily growing accustomed to the heat , smoke , and evacuations as fires reignite @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But this week ’ s blazes stand out for their scale , timing , locations , and intensity , even among recent record-breaking fire seasons .
And the wildfires are just one of several harrowing disasters afflicting California right now .
The state has been scorched by a record-breaking heat wave , with several days in a row of temperatures reaching triple digits in some places , even at night .
Temperatures in Death Valley topped 130 degrees Fahrenheit .
That heat led to rolling blackouts as utilities struggled to meet cooling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Covid-19 pandemic is raging throughout the state , with the number of new cases increasing over the past two weeks and making the already difficult task of controlling wildfires even harder .
Here are the factors that have fueled the recent fires and are now complicating the efforts to control them .
Extreme heat , strange storms , and climate change set the stage for California ’ s fires The lightning storm around the San Francisco Bay Area that sparked many of the current California fires was a rare event .
“ The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was over a decade ago , actually , ” said Bennett .
The fact that lightning started these fires is also noteworthy .
The vast majority of wildfires in California are ignited from human sources — powerlines , arson , neglected campfires , and so on .
But the fires wouldn ’ t have been so bad were it not also for the extreme heat that ’ s been baking the state for weeks .
“ This is a big , big prolonged heat wave characterized not only by hot daytime temperatures , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and an unusual amount of humidity , ” said Daniel Swain , a climate scientist at the University of California Los Angeles and a researcher at the National Center for Atmospheric Research .
“ It turns out increased humidity plays a role in why there are so many fires right now.
” A decaying tropical storm earlier this month in the eastern Pacific Ocean sent a plume of moisture over California .
Amid the scorching heat , the moisture formed clouds that generated immense amounts of wind , thunder , and lightning , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ humidity was high enough to produce these thunderstorms , but not high enough to produce significant flooding rainfall that would mitigate fire risk , ” Swain said .
Much of California ’ s vegetation was also parched and primed to burn , and concerns that this would be an exceptionally bad fire year started to emerge in February as the state emerged from one of its driest winters on record .
This was then followed by an abnormally hot spring .
“ There were a number of unusually significant early season heat waves @ @ @ @ @ @ @ southern California , ” Swain said .
And California is now experiencing the impacts of climate change , which is manifesting in fires .
The weather in California is becoming more volatile .
Temperatures are also rising , which is causing the state ’ s forests , grasslands , and chaparral to dry out even more .
Already , the state has suffered millions of dead trees stemming from years of drought and pests like pine beetles .
More heat could stress these ecosystems even further .
“ It ’ s not just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it ’ s how hot is it the rest of the time , ” Swain said .
“ What really matters is the sustained warming and drying over seasons and years.
” Some of California ’ s current fires are in areas that don ’ t regularly burn It ’ s important to remember that fires are a normal part of the ecology in California , from the coniferous forests in the Sierra Nevada to the chaparral shrubland in the south .
Periodic blazes clear out decaying vegetation , restore nutrients to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Humans , however , continue to make California ’ s wildfires worse at every step .
By suppressing naturally occurring fires , fuel has accumulated in forests and shrublands , increasing the danger when fires do ignite .
People are also building closer to areas that are prone to burn .
That increases the likelihood of starting fires and raises the blazes ’ damage toll .
People have also introduced invasive plant species like Eucalyptus trees , which have spread throughout California and readily ignite .
And burning fossil fuels emits greenhouse gases @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the amount of vegetation that can burn .
Even with this backdrop , the some of the fires in California stand out because they are raging in places that don ’ t burn very often .
“ I think what ’ s key to understand is that different parts of California have very different normal fire seasons , ” said Crystal Kolden , an assistant professor of fire science at the University of California Merced .
“ And that ’ s in part because California is such a big state .
It has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ecosystems across the state.
” Some of the more striking fires right now are in California ’ s coastal redwood forests .
On Thursday , offices buildings at Big Basin Redwoods State Park burned down , and fires damaged some of the park ’ s stalwart trees .
Some redwoods in the park are still smoldering as they burn from the inside .
Because coastal forests are under the influence of marine weather systems , they are much cooler and retain more moisture than the pine forests of the Sierra Nevada and other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ burn periodically and are home to many species that have adapted to fire , but they rarely ignite during the summer .
That they ’ re on fire now is remarkable , a product of high atmospheric pressure over the area that allowed heat to accumulate and overwhelm the cooling effect from the ocean .
“ Those coastal areas are incredibly dry , incredibly hot relative to normal , and that arid and hot condition had this potential to have really explosive fires , ” Kolden said .
The Covid-19 pandemic has rattled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ efforts are not immune .
“ It has definitely has affected our response , primarily in our inmate fire crews , ” Bennett said .
California often relies on prison labor to bolster its firefighting efforts , with almost 200 inmate fire crews .
Inmates are paid between $ 2 and $ 5 a day , plus $ 1 per hour when fighting a fire .
But with severe Covid-19 prison outbreaks in the state , some inmates were released to relieve overcrowding .
Others were hampered by infections , and many remain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ inmate fire crews has been nearly halved .
Anticipating a severe fire season , state officials did line up an additional 800 seasonal firefighters , but they have to take additional precautions .
Fire crews are essentially staying in small bubbles , where they live and work with just each other , to help limit coronavirus transmission .
At base camps where fire crews rest and refuel , officials have designated more space for workers to maintain social distance .
The state is also facing a budget crunch , with the economic slowdown @ @ @ @ @ @ @ led some fire prevention maintenance measures — like clearing dry grass away from roads and buildings — to languish .
As for the Californians fleeing the fires , Covid-19 has made it harder to coordinate evacuations and shelters .
The declining air quality from the wildfires is also a threat to people with Covid-19 , since exposure to air pollution can damage airways and make people more susceptible to respiratory infection .
And extreme heat also worsens the public health impact of Covid-19 as people spend more time in enclosed spaces together to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ round of blazes may take weeks to extinguish , raising the concern that stiff autumn winds — the Santa Ana winds in the south and the Diablo winds in the north — may spread the flames again .
California is facing yet more high temperatures through the weekend and forecasters warn that more dry lightning may be in store .
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Wildfires continue burning in California, with unhealthy air from smoke still cloaking some parts of the state. Combined with the Covid-19 pandemic, the fires are compounding risks that have been brewing for years.
Fire officials have grouped some of the smaller fires in an area into complexes to coordinate their response. The largest of these is the SCU Lightning Complex. It had burned more than 365,000 acres as of Wednesday across parts of the southern San Francisco Bay Area, including Santa Clara and Alameda counties. The SCU Lightning Complex was 25 percent contained as of Wednesday morning.
To the north, the LNU Lighting Complex near Napa has burned more than 357,000 acres and destroyed or damaged 937 structures. Thousands were forced to evacuate. The fire was 33 percent contained as of Wednesday morning, and officials anticipate the flames could spread further.
At least 650 wildfires have raged across the Golden State, burning more than 1.25 million acres, since August 15, leaving at least seven people dead, according to Cal Fire.
Many of the blazes were ignited by a massive dry lightning storm last week concentrated in the San Francisco Bay Area.
“We had close to 11,000 strikes in a matter of three days,” said Brice Bennett, a spokesperson for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire). “With an already-warm weather pattern and very, very dry conditions here in California, with those lightning strikes coming through, over 367 new fires were started.”
Smoke, soot, and ash from the fires also shrouded Northern California in the dirtiest air in the world at several points last week.
Wildfires are nothing new for Californians, who have grown wearily accustomed to the destruction, smoke, and evacuations in recent years. But this summer’s blazes stand out for their scale, timing, locations, and intensity, even among recent record-breaking fire seasons. And as David Wallace-Wells writes for New York’s Intelligencer, “What is most remarkable about the fires of 2020 is that these complexes are burning without the aid of dramatic wind, which is typically, even more than the tinder of dry scrub and forest, what really fuels California fire.”
The wildfires are just one of several disasters affecting California right now. The state has been in a two-decade megadrought, and was scorched by a record-breaking heat wave in early August, with several days in a row of temperatures reaching triple digits in some places, even at night. Temperatures in Death Valley topped 130 degrees Fahrenheit. That heat led to rolling blackouts as utilities struggled to meet cooling demand.
All the while, the Covid-19 pandemic is still a threat, making the already difficult task of controlling wildfires even harder.
Here are the factors that have fueled the recent fires and are now complicating the efforts to control them.
Extreme heat, strange storms, and climate change set the stage for California’s fires
The lightning storm around the San Francisco Bay Area that sparked many of the current California fires was a rare event.
“The last time we had something like this was over a decade ago, actually,” said Bennett. The fact that lightning started these fires is also noteworthy. The vast majority of wildfires in California are ignited from human sources — power lines, arson, neglected campfires, and so on.
But the fires wouldn’t have been so bad were it not also for the extreme heat that’s been baking the state for weeks.
“This is a big, big, prolonged heat wave characterized not only by hot daytime temperatures but also record-warm overnight temperatures and an unusual amount of humidity,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California Los Angeles and a researcher at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. “It turns out increased humidity plays a role in why there are so many fires right now.”
A decaying tropical storm earlier this month in the eastern Pacific Ocean sent a plume of moisture over California. Amid the scorching heat, the moisture formed clouds that generated immense amounts of wind, thunder, and lightning but very little rain. “The humidity was high enough to produce these thunderstorms, but not high enough to produce significant flooding rainfall that would mitigate fire risk,” Swain said.
Much of California’s vegetation was also parched and primed to burn, and concerns that this would be an exceptionally bad fire year started to emerge in February as the state emerged from one of its driest winters on record. This was then followed by an abnormally hot spring. “There were a number of unusually significant early-season heat waves this spring both in Northern and in Southern California,” Swain said.
And California is now experiencing the impacts of climate change, which is manifesting in fires. The weather in California is becoming more volatile. Temperatures are also rising, which is causing the state’s forests, grasslands, and chaparral to dry out even more. The state already has millions of dead trees stemming from years of drought and pests like pine beetles. More heat could stress these ecosystems even further.
The western US has seen a big increase in drought since last July. The widespread drought and plenty of dry vegetation in Colorado have been two factors in helping worsen wildfires burning across the state this summer.https://t.co/4xm2Zm3KpJ pic.twitter.com/6R5VxiffE1 — NOAA Climate.gov (@NOAAClimate) August 26, 2020
“It’s not just how hot are the heat waves; it’s how hot is it the rest of the time,” Swain said. “What really matters is the sustained warming and drying over seasons and years.”
Some of California’s current fires are in areas that don’t regularly burn
It’s important to remember that fires are a normal part of the ecology in California, from the coniferous forests in the Sierra Nevada to the chaparral shrubland in the south. Periodic blazes clear out decaying vegetation, restore nutrients to the soil, and help plants germinate.
Humans, however, continue to make California’s wildfires worse at every step. By suppressing naturally occurring fires, fuel has accumulated in forests and shrublands, increasing the danger when fires do ignite. People are also building closer to areas that are prone to burn. That increases the likelihood of starting fires and raises the blazes’ damage toll. People have also introduced invasive plant species like eucalyptus trees, which have spread throughout California and readily ignite. And burning fossil fuels emits greenhouse gases that are warming the planet, increasing the amount of vegetation that can burn.
Even with this backdrop, some of the fires in California stand out because they are raging in places that don’t burn very often.
“I think what’s key to understand is that different parts of California have very different normal fire seasons,” said Crystal Kolden, an assistant professor of fire science at the University of California Merced. “And that’s in part because California is such a big state. It has really variable topography and different vegetation or ecosystems across the state.”
Because the coastal forests are under the influence of marine weather systems, they are much cooler and retain more moisture than the pine forests of the Sierra Nevada and other inland areas. The coastal forests do burn periodically and are home to many species that have adapted to fire, but they rarely ignite during the summer.
That some portions of them have burned is remarkable, a product of high atmospheric pressure over the area that allowed heat to accumulate and overwhelm the cooling effect from the ocean. “Those coastal areas are incredibly dry, incredibly hot relative to normal, and that arid and hot condition had this potential to have really explosive fires,” Kolden said.
Covid-19 is adding a wallop to California’s fires
The Covid-19 pandemic has rattled every part of society, and firefighting efforts are not immune. “It definitely has affected our response, primarily in our inmate fire crews,” Bennett said.
California often relies on prison labor to bolster its firefighting efforts, with almost 200 inmate fire crews. Inmates are paid between $2 and $5 a day, plus $1 per hour when fighting a fire. But with severe Covid-19 prison outbreaks in the state, some inmates were released to relieve overcrowding. Others were hampered by infections, and many remain under quarantine. The number of available inmate fire crews has been nearly halved.
Related Why US jails and prisons became coronavirus epicenters
Anticipating a severe fire season, state officials did line up an additional 800 seasonal firefighters, but they have to take additional precautions. Fire crews are essentially staying in small bubbles, where they live and work with just each other, to help limit coronavirus transmission.
At base camps where fire crews rest and refuel, officials have designated more space for workers to maintain social distance.
The state is also facing a budget crunch, with the economic slowdown because of the pandemic. That’s led some fire prevention maintenance measures — like clearing dry grass away from roads and buildings — to languish.
As for the Californians fleeing the fires, Covid-19 has made it harder to coordinate evacuations and shelters. The declining air quality from the wildfires is also a threat to people with Covid-19, since exposure to air pollution can damage airways and make people more susceptible to respiratory infection. Extreme heat also worsens the public health impact of Covid-19 as people spend more time in enclosed spaces together to avoid the heat.
And the current round of blazes may take weeks to extinguish, raising the concern that stiff autumn winds — the Santa Ana winds in the south and the Diablo winds in the north — may spread the flames again.
Will you become our 20,000th supporter? When the economy took a downturn in the spring and we started asking readers for financial contributions, we weren’t sure how it would go. Today, we’re humbled to say that nearly 20,000 people have chipped in. The reason is both lovely and surprising: Readers told us that they contribute both because they value explanation and because they value that other people can access it, too. We have always believed that explanatory journalism is vital for a functioning democracy. That’s never been more important than today, during a public health crisis, racial justice protests, a recession, and a presidential election. But our distinctive explanatory journalism is expensive, and advertising alone won’t let us keep creating it at the quality and volume this moment requires. Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation, but it will help keep Vox free for all. Contribute today from as little as $3.


vox--2020-08-21--Did Putin have his top critic poisoned?

Did Putin have his top critic poisoned?

Russian President Vladimir Putin ’ s most outspoken critic is lying in a coma in a Siberian hospital from a suspected poisoning — and his family and supporters allege Putin and his government are behind it .
They have good reason to suspect that .
The Kremlin has a long , sordid history of poisoning political dissidents , defectors , and other enemies of the state .
Indeed , this is actually the second time Navalny — the leader of Russia ’ s splintered opposition — is suspected of having been poisoned in just a little over a year .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ at a Siberian airport before boarding a flight to Moscow .
He became ill on the aircraft , with a video purportedly showing the politician moaning and needing immediate medical attention .
The plane made an emergency landing in Omsk , near Kazakhstan , where an ambulance waited to take him to a local hospital .
But Navalny ’ s condition worsened , and he fell into a coma before he arrived at the facility .
Omsk Emergency Hospital No .
1 , where Navalny is currently being treated , has since become @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Navalny ’ s family and supporters and the doctors overseeing his care .
Navalny ’ s wife and supporters allege the doctors are controlled by the Kremlin and trying to cover up the poisoning attack instead of properly treating their patient .
The physicians say Navalny wasn ’ t poisoned but instead suffers from a “ metabolic disorder ” that leads to low blood sugar .
“ Poisons or traces of their presence in the body have not been identified , ” Anatoly Kalinichenko , the deputy chief doctor at the Omsk emergency @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ The diagnosis of ‘ poisoning ’ remains somewhere in the back of our minds , but we do not believe that the patient suffered poisoning.
” But Navalny ’ s team — including his wife Yulia Navalnaya , who has so far been barred from seeing her husband in the hospital , according to a spokesperson — still suspects foul play .
“ The medics are being totally commanded by the FSB and hardly release anything , ” Vladimir Milov , a close Navalny associate , told me , using the acronym @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the successor agency to the Soviet-era KGB responsible for internal security , among other things .
“ We of course can not trust this hospital and we demand for Alexei to be given to us , so that we could have him treated in an independent hospital whose doctors we trust , ” Navalnaya said in another press conference Friday .
A medical plane sent by the Berlin-based humanitarian group Cinema for Peace Foundation arrived in Omsk on Friday to take the opposition leader to Germany for treatment .
The Russian doctors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wasn ’ t stable enough to travel , before finally allowing the German physicians to take a look at the patient ’ s condition .
Navalnaya wrote a letter to Putin , pleading for him to allow the transfer , and EU leader Charles Michel raised the issue and expressed concern about the situation in a Friday call with Putin .
Late on Friday , the Russian physicians granted the transfer request , but the earliest he ’ d be transported would be Saturday morning , his team said .
Hanging over all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pressing questions : Was Navalny actually poisoned ?
And if so , did Putin have anything to do it ?
As of right now , we don ’ t have definitive answers to those questions — and we may never get them .
Turns out , that may be exactly the point .
Why Putin may be responsible for Navalny ’ s coma Ask people familiar with how the Russian government handles dissidents , and they unanimously note that what likely happened to Navalny is part of a long-standing Russian government playbook — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or intimidating ‘ enemies of the people ’ has been a staple of Kremlin policy for over 100 years , ” said John Sipher , who ran CIA operations in Russia during his 28-year intelligence career before retiring six years ago .
“ Putin has continued this tactic of killing his enemies at home and abroad , and has created a system where those who wish to earn the Kremlin ’ s support need to do [ his ] bidding , ” Sipher said .
“ Whether or not Putin personally ordered the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all efforts to maintain control through intimidation and murder.
” Poisoning people is kind of the Kremlin ’ s thing .
In 2004 , Viktor Yushchenko campaigned against a Putin ally for the presidency of Ukraine .
But then he fell ill , with his face mysteriously and suddenly blotchy and the left side paralyzed .
He also suffered immense abdominal and back pain .
He said he had been poisoned — with dioxin , a toxic chemical , no less — but Russian officials have long denied having anything to do with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and Yushchenko ended up winning the presidency . )
In 2006 , two Russian agents put polonium-210 — a highly radioactive chemical — in former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko ’ s tea at a London hotel bar ( he had defected to the UK ) .
It took weeks for Litvinenko to die , and he blamed Putin for orchestrating the attack .
“ You may succeed in silencing one man , ” Litvinenko said from his hospital bed , “ but the howl of protest from around the world will reverberate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the rest of your life.
” Russia continues to deny any involvement in Litvinenko ’ s death .
In 2018 , the UK determined that Russian operatives poisoned a former Russian double agent and his daughter in Britain with Novichok , one of the world ’ s most lethal nerve agents ( that just so happens to have been developed by the Soviet Union ) , putting both victims in the hospital in serious condition .
They both recovered from the attack and are now in an unknown location — hiding out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And while poison is one of the most commonly used assassination tools , the Kremlin isn ’ t above using more prosaic methods .
Boris Nemtsov , for instance , was shot near the Kremlin in February 2015 .
Nemtsov had been digging up dirt on the government ’ s misdeeds , which may have prompted Putin allies to want him dead .
A man was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the murder , but many critics believe the whole trial was a sham and a cover-up by the president ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all of these episodes , as Sipher alluded to , is that it ’ s unclear just how directly Putin may or may not have been involved .
Plausible deniability is baked into the cake of his authoritarian system .
Everyone who works in the government knows what Putin wants without him having to explicitly ask .
That means Kremlin operatives have the green light to pursue some of those goals — like knocking off a political rival — while officially keeping Putin out the loop .
That , in a sense , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ without having his fingerprints on the government ’ s dirtiest actions .
So Putin could have ordered Navalny dead himself , but it ’ s equally possible that someone who wanted to make Putin happy did it on their own initiative .
“ Navalny has lots of enemies , ” said Judy Twigg , a Russia expert at Virginia Commonwealth University .
He ’ s been repeatedly jailed for instigating protests against Putin and was twice attacked with an antiseptic green dye in 2017 .
“ It looks funny but it hurts like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attacks .
And last summer , while Navalny was serving a 30-day prison sentence for leading anti-government protests , he was taken to the hospital with symptoms of facial swelling , itching , and a rash .
As the Guardian reported , doctors at the hospital said Navalny was experiencing an allergic reaction to something but didn ’ t say what that something was .
One of Navalny ’ s personal doctors also examined him , though , and she said he was suffering from “ the result of harmful effects of undefined @ @ @ @ @ @ @ third person.
’ ” In other words , poison .
There ’ s still no official proof of foul play ( of course ) .
But beyond this very suggestive history , there are two other potential context clues that point the finger in Putin ’ s direction in this latest incident .
First , if the FSB is indeed putting pressure on the Omsk hospital , as the Navalny associate Milov alleges , that would imply that Putin or someone close to him cares deeply about how Navalny ’ s situation is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s certainly possible the FSB is involved .
“ The FSB would surely be highly engaged in a situation where there ’ s contact with foreigners , ” said Twigg , especially since employees of the state — which includes most Russian medical staff — must report their contacts with international visitors , such as the German doctors .
Of course , any state security officials that were may have just been following protocol by inserting themselves into a situation that would clearly garner global attention .
But their suspected role in keeping @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , if true , could mean they were trying to hide something — like , say , any evidence of poison coursing through the opposition figure ’ s veins .
Second , things aren ’ t looking too great for Putin right now .
He ’ s overseeing one of the world ’ s worst coronavirus outbreaks , facing protests that question his leadership , and watching as his ally in Belarus faces nationwide calls to step down .
With all that instability , Putin may have wanted to target his main political @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ This is an escalation and a sign that the regime is anxious and eager to clamp down once and for all , ” Alina Polyakova , the president of the Center for European Policy Analysis , told me .
If that was the plan , it ’ s unclear whether it will actually work .
If Navalny recovers , he may have even more credibility to form a larger opposition movement against Putin as a result of the suspected attack , experts say .
Instead of getting rid of his biggest political @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be responsible ) may have just made him more powerful .
Whether or not Navalny recovers and is able to wield that power if he does is what many inside and outside Russia — and certainly many inside the Kremlin — will be waiting to see .
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The world’s top chemical weapons watchdog group concluded that the substance ingested in August by Alexei Navalny, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s most outspoken critic, was a nerve agent with “similar structural characteristics” to Novichok — providing more evidence the Kremlin was behind a chemical attack on a political opponent.
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons’s (POCW) finding on Tuesday backs what a toxicology report in Germany found last month. Novichok is one of the world’s most lethal nerve agents. It was developed by the Soviet Union and was used on a Russian double agent in the UK two years ago.
That’s why the OPCW seemed especially concerned about what they concluded. “These results constitute a matter of grave concern,” it said in a statement. “The use of chemical weapons by anyone under any circumstances [are] reprehensible and wholly contrary to the legal norms established by the international community.”
Luckily, Navalny was released from a German hospital on September 23 and is expected to make a full recovery. Such an outcome wasn’t guaranteed after he was placed in a medically induced after being poisoned before boarding a flight in Russia in August.
The confirmed use of a deadly nerve agent increases the likelihood that the Russian government was behind Navalny’s poisoning, as many have suspected, and has already led to condemnations from world leaders like German Chancellor Angela Merkel and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Sanctions from European countries may follow, though it’s unclear if the United States will take any direct action.
Which means the fallout from the suspected murder attempt might further split ties between a Europe united in its disdain for Russia’s actions and an America unwilling to chastise Moscow for the heinous act.
What happened to Navalny, briefly explained
On August 20, Navalny drank tea at a Siberian airport before boarding a flight to Moscow. He became ill on the aircraft, with a video purportedly showing the politician moaning and needing immediate medical attention.
The plane made an emergency landing in Omsk, near Kazakhstan, where an ambulance waited to take him to a local hospital. But Navalny’s condition worsened, and he fell into a coma before he arrived at the facility.
Russia’s Omsk Emergency Hospital No. 1, where Navalny was first treated, became the site of a frustrating standoff between Navalny’s family and supporters and the doctors overseeing his care. Navalny’s wife and team alleged the doctors were controlled by the Kremlin and tried to cover up the poisoning attack instead of properly treating their patient.
The physicians at the time said Navalny wasn’t poisoned but instead suffered from a “metabolic disorder” that led to low blood sugar. “Poisons or traces of their presence in the body have not been identified,” Anatoly Kalinichenko, the deputy chief doctor at the Omsk emergency hospital, told reporters on Friday. “The diagnosis of ‘poisoning’ remains somewhere in the back of our minds, but we do not believe that the patient suffered poisoning.”
But Navalny’s team — including his wife Yulia Navalnaya, who was barred from seeing her husband in the Russian hospital, according to a spokesperson — suspected foul play. They had good reason to believe that: The Kremlin has a long, sordid history of poisoning political dissidents, defectors, and other enemies of the state.
“The medics are being totally commanded by the FSB and hardly release anything,” Vladimir Milov, a close Navalny associate, told me last week, using the acronym for Russia’s Federal Security Service, the successor agency to the Soviet-era KGB responsible for internal security, among other things.
“We of course cannot trust this hospital and we demand for Alexei to be given to us, so that we could have him treated in an independent hospital whose doctors we trust,” Navalnaya said in another press conference on August 21.
A medical plane sent by the Berlin-based humanitarian group Cinema for Peace Foundation arrived in Omsk on Friday to take the opposition leader to Germany for treatment. The Russian doctors initially blocked the transfer, saying Navalny wasn’t stable enough to travel, before finally allowing the German physicians to take a look at the patient’s condition.
Navalnaya wrote a letter to Putin, pleading for him to allow the transfer, and EU leader Charles Michel raised the issue and expressed concern about the situation in a Friday call with Putin. Late that Friday, the Russian physicians granted the transfer request, and Navalny arrived in Berlin over the weekend.
Hanging over all the drama is one pressing question: Did Putin have anything to do it?
As of right now, we don’t have a definitive answer to that question — and we may never get it. Turns out, that may be exactly the point.
Why Putin may be responsible for Navalny’s poisoning with Novichok
Ask people familiar with how the Russian government handles dissidents, and they unanimously note that what likely happened to Navalny is part of a long-standing Russian government playbook — one that Putin follows.
“Killing or intimidating ‘enemies of the people’ has been a staple of Kremlin policy for over 100 years,” said John Sipher, who ran CIA operations in Russia during his 28-year intelligence career before retiring six years ago.
“Putin has continued this tactic of killing his enemies at home and abroad, and has created a system where those who wish to earn the Kremlin’s support need to do [his] bidding,” Sipher said. “Whether or not Putin personally ordered the poisoning, he is behind any and all efforts to maintain control through intimidation and murder.”
Poisoning people is kind of the Kremlin’s thing. In 2004, Viktor Yushchenko campaigned against a Putin ally for the presidency of Ukraine. But then he fell ill, with his face mysteriously and suddenly blotchy and the left side paralyzed. He also suffered immense abdominal and back pain. He said he had been poisoned — with dioxin, a toxic chemical, no less — but Russian officials have long denied having anything to do with what happened to him. (Oh, and Yushchenko ended up winning the presidency.)
In 2006, two Russian agents put polonium-210 — a highly radioactive chemical — in former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko’s tea at a London hotel bar (he had defected to the UK). It took weeks for Litvinenko to die, and he blamed Putin for orchestrating the attack.
“You may succeed in silencing one man,” Litvinenko said from his hospital bed, “but the howl of protest from around the world will reverberate, Mr. Putin, in your ears for the rest of your life.” Russia continues to deny any involvement in Litvinenko’s death.
In 2018, the UK determined that Russian operatives poisoned a former Russian double agent and his daughter in Britain with Novichok, one of the world’s most lethal nerve agents (that just so happens to have been developed by the Soviet Union), putting both victims in the hospital in serious condition. They both recovered from the attack and are now in an unknown location — hiding out of fear of another potential attack.
And while poison is one of the most commonly used assassination tools, the Kremlin isn’t above using more prosaic methods. Boris Nemtsov, for instance, was shot near the Kremlin in February 2015. Nemtsov had been digging up dirt on the government’s misdeeds, which may have prompted Putin allies to want him dead. A man was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the murder, but many critics believe the whole trial was a sham and a cover-up by the president’s team.
The common thread among all of these episodes, as Sipher alluded to, is that it’s unclear just how directly Putin may or may not have been involved. Plausible deniability is baked into the cake of his authoritarian system. Everyone who works in the government knows what Putin wants without him having to explicitly ask. That means Kremlin operatives have the green light to pursue some of those goals — like knocking off a political rival — while officially keeping Putin out the loop.
That, in a sense, is how he gets what he wants without having his fingerprints on the government’s dirtiest actions.
So Putin could have ordered Navalny dead himself, but it’s equally possible that someone who wanted to make Putin happy did it on their own initiative. “Navalny has lots of enemies,” said Judy Twigg, a Russia expert at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Navalny has been repeatedly jailed for instigating protests against Putin and was twice attacked with an antiseptic green dye in 2017. “It looks funny but it hurts like hell,” Navalny tweeted about the attacks.
And last summer, while Navalny was serving a 30-day prison sentence for leading anti-government protests, he was taken to the hospital with symptoms of facial swelling, itching, and a rash. As the Guardian reported at the time, doctors at the hospital said Navalny was experiencing an allergic reaction to something but didn’t say what that something was.
One of Navalny’s personal doctors also examined him, though, and she said he was suffering from “the result of harmful effects of undefined chemical substances ... induced by a ‘third person.’”
In other words, poison. There’s still no official proof of foul play (of course).
But beyond this very suggestive history, there are two other potential context clues that point the finger in Putin’s direction in this latest incident.
First, if the FSB did indeed put pressure on the Omsk hospital, as the Navalny associate Milov alleged, that would imply that Putin or someone close to him cares deeply about how Navalny’s situation is handled.
Twigg told me it’s certainly possible the FSB was involved. “The FSB would surely be highly engaged in a situation where there’s contact with foreigners,” said Twigg, especially since employees of the state — which includes most Russian medical staff — must report their contacts with international visitors, such as the German doctors.
Of course, any state security officials that were involved may have just been following protocol by inserting themselves into a situation that would clearly garner global attention. But their suspected role in keeping the German doctors from initially seeing Navalny, if true, could mean they were trying to hide something — like, say, any evidence of poison coursing through the opposition figure’s veins.
Second, things aren’t looking too great for Putin right now. He’s overseeing one of the world’s worst coronavirus outbreaks, facing protests that question his leadership, and watching as his ally in Belarus faces nationwide calls to step down. With all that instability, Putin may have wanted to target his main political rival to send a strong message.
“This is an escalation and a sign that the regime is anxious and eager to clamp down once and for all,” Alina Polyakova, the president of the Center for European Policy Analysis, told me.
If that was the plan, it’s unclear whether it will actually work. If Navalny fully recovers, he may have even more credibility to form a larger opposition movement against Putin as a result of the suspected attack, experts say. Instead of getting rid of his biggest political rival, Putin (or whoever might be responsible) may have just made him more powerful.
Whether or not Navalny bounces back and is able to wield that power is what many inside and outside Russia — and certainly many inside the Kremlin — will be waiting to see.


vox--2020-08-21--Postmaster General Louis DeJoy promises to prioritize mail-in ballots, but questions about delays re

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy promises to prioritize mail-in ballots, but questions about delays remain

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy promised a Senate committee Friday that election mail will be prioritized this November , and that he was “ extremely highly confident ” that ballots sent a week before Election Day would arrive on time and be counted .
“ We will scour every plant each night leading up to Election Day — very , very confident , ” DeJoy said Friday , responding to a question from Sen. Mitt Romney ( R-UT ) .
DeJoy ’ s answer was one of a number of assurances he gave lawmakers on the Republican-led Senate Homeland Security and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Postal Service ’ s ability to handle the huge influx of mail-in ballots expected during this year ’ s election due to the Covid-19 pandemic .
The hearing comes amid reports that recent cost-cutting measures DeJoy implemented at the USPS have produced a “ crippling backlog ” of letters and packages , and fears that could undermine the November election and result in millions of Americans ’ mail-in ballots going uncounted .
But despite DeJoy ’ s commitments to prioritize election mail , he didn ’ t really elaborate on the post office @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or explain how recent changes , including the decommissioning of hundreds of mail-sorting machines , could potentially affect not just the on-time delivery of ballots , but also bills and medications .
DeJoy is a major Trump and Republican donor and former logistics executive who only took over the USPS on June 16 .
Since then , he ’ s initiated a series of cost-cutting measures that postal workers and unions said have caused delays in delivering the mail .
As Vox ’ s Adam Clark Estes reported , those measures included changes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ overtime hours , and the decommissioning of about 671 USPS sorting machines , which can process 21.4 million pieces of flat mail ( which includes paper ballots ) per hour .
Hundreds of blue mail-collection boxes have also been removed around the country .
The pandemic has also exacerbated problems throughout the Postal Service ( which predate DeJoy ) , as workers fall sick or need to take leave for child care and more resources are allocated to supplying personal protective gear .
And , in July , the USPS sent letters to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ warning that it might not be able to deliver all ballots by Election Day , even as the number of people expected to vote by mail doubles .
All of this , combined with President Donald Trump ’ s baseless claims that mail-in voting increases the potential for fraud , raised fears that millions of Americans who vote by mail in the November election might be disenfranchised .
In response to Democrats , voting groups , and state attorneys general , DeJoy announced earlier this week that the USPS would halt any further @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to avoid even the appearance of any impact on election mail.
” That included keeping mail processing equipment and blue collection boxes where they are , pausing on closing any mail processing facilities , and continuing to approve overtime as needed .
DeJoy said he “ had no idea ” about the removal of the blue collection boxes , but said he ’ d learned that it was a normal process and that he ’ d since stopped it ahead of the election .
DeJoy also promised that starting October 1 , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to satisfy extra demand .
DeJoy also denied speaking to Trump or his campaign about changes to postal operations , calling it “ an outrageous claim.
” Yet DeJoy conceded that he will move forward with dramatic cost-saving measures after the election — including raising package rates and curbing discounts for nonprofits , according to the Washington Post .
And , most critically , DeJoy said that he would not reverse some of the changes that had already taken place , and would not bring back online the hundreds of USPS mail-sorting machines @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s no intention to do that , they ’ re not needed , sir , ” DeJoy said , in response to a question from Sen. Gary Peters ( D-MI ) .
First-class mail has been decreasing since 2001 , and the USPS usually does decommission a percentage of these sorting machines each year — though the number of machines taken offline this year far exceeds that of recent years .
And postal workers have said that removing these machines could slow down the processing of flat mail .
In one notable @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) asked DeJoy whether he had a detailed plan about how he ’ s “ going to ensure the kind of delivery that Americans count on for voting by mail.
” After all , as lawmakers pointed out , voters in some states can start requesting their mail-in ballots as early as September 4 , just a few weeks from now .
DeJoy responded that “ there are detailed processes that we are going through , they ’ re going to be expanded plans to that , ” adding that he had just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mail , something he also announced this week .
When Hassan pressed for details of the plan by Sunday , DeJoy said he didn ’ t think he would have a complete plan ready by then but that he ’ d get back to her .
DeJoy will be back before Congress next week to testify before the House , which may be more tense than Friday ’ s hearing .
House Democrats have a bill to reverse some of the changes DeJoy put in place and to give $ 25 billion to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Friday hearing that the post office did not need additional funding to deliver mail on Election Day , though he welcomed and urged congressional action on changes to the USPS .
In the spring , we launched a program asking readers for financial contributions to help keep Vox free for everyone , and last week , we set a goal of reaching 20,000 contributors .
Well , you helped us blow past that .
Today , we are extending that goal to 25,000 .
Millions turn to Vox each month to understand an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ happening with the USPS to the coronavirus crisis to what is , quite possibly , the most consequential presidential election of our lifetimes .
Even when the economy and the news advertising market recovers , your support will be a critical part of sustaining our resource-intensive work — and helping everyone make sense of an increasingly chaotic world .
Contribute today from as little as $ 3 .

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy promised a Senate committee Friday that election mail will be prioritized this November, and that he was “extremely highly confident” that ballots sent a week before Election Day would arrive on time and be counted.
“We will scour every plant each night leading up to Election Day — very, very confident,” DeJoy said Friday, responding to a question from Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT).
DeJoy’s answer was one of a number of assurances he gave lawmakers on the Republican-led Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee about the United States Postal Service’s ability to handle the huge influx of mail-in ballots expected during this year’s election due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The hearing comes amid reports that recent cost-cutting measures DeJoy implemented at the USPS have produced a “crippling backlog” of letters and packages, and fears that could undermine the November election and result in millions of Americans’ mail-in ballots going uncounted.
But despite DeJoy’s commitments to prioritize election mail, he didn’t really elaborate on the post office’s plan to do that — or explain how recent changes, including the decommissioning of hundreds of mail-sorting machines, could potentially affect not just the on-time delivery of ballots, but also bills and medications.
DeJoy is a major Trump and Republican donor and former logistics executive who only took over the USPS on June 16. Since then, he’s initiated a series of cost-cutting measures that postal workers and unions said have caused delays in delivering the mail.
As Vox’s Adam Clark Estes reported, those measures included changes to mail transportation, new restrictions on overtime hours, and the decommissioning of about 671 USPS sorting machines, which can process 21.4 million pieces of flat mail (which includes paper ballots) per hour. Hundreds of blue mail-collection boxes have also been removed around the country.
The pandemic has also exacerbated problems throughout the Postal Service (which predate DeJoy), as workers fall sick or need to take leave for child care and more resources are allocated to supplying personal protective gear.
And, in July, the USPS sent letters to 46 states and Washington, DC, warning that it might not be able to deliver all ballots by Election Day, even as the number of people expected to vote by mail doubles.
All of this, combined with President Donald Trump’s baseless claims that mail-in voting increases the potential for fraud, raised fears that millions of Americans who vote by mail in the November election might be disenfranchised.
In response to Democrats, voting groups, and state attorneys general, DeJoy announced earlier this week that the USPS would halt any further operational changes until after the election “to avoid even the appearance of any impact on election mail.” That included keeping mail processing equipment and blue collection boxes where they are, pausing on closing any mail processing facilities, and continuing to approve overtime as needed. DeJoy said he “had no idea” about the removal of the blue collection boxes, but said he’d learned that it was a normal process and that he’d since stopped it ahead of the election.
DeJoy also promised that starting October 1, the USPS would engage “standby resources” to satisfy extra demand. DeJoy also denied speaking to Trump or his campaign about changes to postal operations, calling it “an outrageous claim.”
Yet DeJoy conceded that he will move forward with dramatic cost-saving measures after the election — including raising package rates and curbing discounts for nonprofits, according to the Washington Post. And, most critically, DeJoy said that he would not reverse some of the changes that had already taken place, and would not bring back online the hundreds of USPS mail-sorting machines that have been decommissioned.
“There’s no intention to do that, they’re not needed, sir,” DeJoy said, in response to a question from Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI).
DeJoy says he has "no intention" of bringing back any mail sorting machines that were removed since he became postmaster general https://t.co/uPUUHHEj5w pic.twitter.com/fr9XQTonGG — CBS News (@CBSNews) August 21, 2020
First-class mail has been decreasing since 2001, and the USPS usually does decommission a percentage of these sorting machines each year — though the number of machines taken offline this year far exceeds that of recent years. And postal workers have said that removing these machines could slow down the processing of flat mail.
In one notable exchange, Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) asked DeJoy whether he had a detailed plan about how he’s “going to ensure the kind of delivery that Americans count on for voting by mail.” After all, as lawmakers pointed out, voters in some states can start requesting their mail-in ballots as early as September 4, just a few weeks from now.
DeJoy responded that “there are detailed processes that we are going through, they’re going to be expanded plans to that,” adding that he had just expanded the leadership task force on election mail, something he also announced this week. When Hassan pressed for details of the plan by Sunday, DeJoy said he didn’t think he would have a complete plan ready by then but that he’d get back to her.
DeJoy will be back before Congress next week to testify before the House, which may be more tense than Friday’s hearing. House Democrats have a bill to reverse some of the changes DeJoy put in place and to give $25 billion to the USPS. DeJoy said during the Friday hearing that the post office did not need additional funding to deliver mail on Election Day, though he welcomed and urged congressional action on changes to the USPS.
New goal: 25,000
In the spring, we launched a program asking readers for financial contributions to help keep Vox free for everyone, and last week, we set a goal of reaching 20,000 contributors. Well, you helped us blow past that. Today, we are extending that goal to 25,000. Millions turn to Vox each month to understand an increasingly chaotic world — from what is happening with the USPS to the coronavirus crisis to what is, quite possibly, the most consequential presidential election of our lifetimes. Even when the economy and the news advertising market recovers, your support will be a critical part of sustaining our resource-intensive work — and helping everyone make sense of an increasingly chaotic world. Contribute today from as little as $3.