vox--2020-05-06--Trump still wants to get rid of the Affordable Care Act, even as Covid-19 rages

Moments after signing a proclamation honoring National Nurses Day on Wednesday , and in the middle of a pandemic that has already claimed tens of thousands of American lives , President Donald Trump reaffirmed his support for throwing out the Affordable Care Act .
While speaking with reporters in the Oval Office Wednesday , Trump was asked about a federal lawsuit , Texas v. California , which was brought by a coalition of Republican state attorneys general and seeks to have the landmark health care law thrown out entirely .
“ Obamacare is a disaster , but we ’ ve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
Wednesday was the deadline for the Department of Justice to file a brief in the case , which will be heard by the US Supreme Court this October .
DOJ ’ s brief agrees with the litigants and asks the Court to rule the entire law unconstitutional — instead of a more narrow request that the Court throw out only the law ’ s preexisting conditions as the Trump administration had asked for at one point in 2018 .
US Attorney General William Barr had lobbied the president to revert to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the coronavirus pandemic , according to a Politico report .
While Vox ’ s Ian Millhiser notes that it ’ s unlikely SCOTUS will overturn the law , the outcome is not certain .
And doing so without an adequate replacement would kick millions of Americans off their insurance .
The Urban Institute reviewed the likely consequences of tossing out the law : It would also have consequences for the country ’ s future — potentially devastating ones regarding the country ’ s ability to combat the coronavirus pandemic , and interesting ones @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The ACA has divided the Trump administration for a long time This is not the first time Trump has gone against the advice of his highest-level advisers on the lawsuit .
When originally argued in district court in northern Texas , the DOJ argued not for the ACA to be thrown out , but instead to scrap smaller portions of the law , like protections for patients with preexisting conditions .
But after federal Judge Reed O ’ Connor ruled that the whole law should be thrown out , the administration changed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a terse two-sentence note submitted to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals , which by that point had taken up the case , the administration came out in support of O ’ Connor ’ s position .
“ The Department of Justice has determined that the district court ’ s judgment should be affirmed , ” wrote three Justice Department lawyers .
“ [ T ] he United States is not urging that any portion of the district court ’ s judgment be reversed.
” The administration ’ s decision was reportedly driven @ @ @ @ @ @ @ acting director of the Office of Management and Budget Russ Vought , both close allies of then-acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney , according to a Politico report last March .
Mulvaney was a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus when he was a Congress member from South Carolina .
According to the Politico report , Barr and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar opposed changing the DOJ position in the suit , putting Barr in the awkward position of running the department responsible for arguing the case .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ viable Republican plan to replace it , they argued , would play badly electorally .
At the time , HHS spokesperson Caitlin Oakley denied that Azar opposed the administration ’ s new position in the case to Politico .
“ Any insinuation that Secretary Azar has ‘ butted heads ’ with Mulvaney on this issue is false , ” she said in a statement .
The timing of the case means that a SCOTUS decision will likely come after this fall ’ s general election .
That won ’ t stop Democrats from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ campaign season .
Former Vice President Joe Biden , the presumptive Democratic nominee , released a statement Wednesday denouncing Trump ’ s decision to follow through his support for the suit .
“ By siding with the Republican Attorneys-General who are seeking to invalidate the ACA in the U.S. Supreme Court , Trump has made clear where his priorities lie , ” he wrote , saying that Trump doesn ’ t side with people with preexisting conditions or those who may develop preexisting conditions due to Covid-19 , the disease caused by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ d rather destroy President Obama ’ s legacy than protect the health care of millions upon millions of Americans .
He ’ d rather look after the profits of the insurance industry than make sure people can access healthcare in their hour of need .
It ’ s despicable , ” Biden said .
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 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 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 .

Moments after signing a proclamation honoring National Nurses Day on Wednesday, and in the middle of a pandemic that has already claimed tens of thousands of American lives, President Donald Trump reaffirmed his support for throwing out the Affordable Care Act.
While speaking with reporters in the Oval Office Wednesday, Trump was asked about a federal lawsuit, Texas v. California, which was brought by a coalition of Republican state attorneys general and seeks to have the landmark health care law thrown out entirely.
“Obamacare is a disaster, but we’ve made it barely acceptable,” Trump said.
Wednesday was the deadline for the Department of Justice to file a brief in the case, which will be heard by the US Supreme Court this October. DOJ’s brief agrees with the litigants and asks the Court to rule the entire law unconstitutional — instead of a more narrow request that the Court throw out only the law’s preexisting conditions as the Trump administration had asked for at one point in 2018. US Attorney General William Barr had lobbied the president to revert to that previous position in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a Politico report.
While Vox’s Ian Millhiser notes that it’s unlikely SCOTUS will overturn the law, the outcome is not certain. And doing so without an adequate replacement would kick millions of Americans off their insurance. The Urban Institute reviewed the likely consequences of tossing out the law:
The number of uninsured people would increase by approximately 20 million, or 65 percent nationally, [and] the increases in uninsurance would be most heavily concentrated among people with the lowest incomes (below 200 percent of the federal poverty level), young adults, families with at least one full-time worker, and residents of the South and West. These subpopulations of the United States have experienced the largest gains in insurance coverage under the ACA and consequently would be hit the hardest if the law were repealed.
It would also have consequences for the country’s future — potentially devastating ones regarding the country’s ability to combat the coronavirus pandemic, and interesting ones in this fall’s general election.
The ACA has divided the Trump administration for a long time
This is not the first time Trump has gone against the advice of his highest-level advisers on the lawsuit. When originally argued in district court in northern Texas, the DOJ argued not for the ACA to be thrown out, but instead to scrap smaller portions of the law, like protections for patients with preexisting conditions.
But after federal Judge Reed O’Connor ruled that the whole law should be thrown out, the administration changed its position on the suit. In a terse two-sentence note submitted to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which by that point had taken up the case, the administration came out in support of O’Connor’s position.
“The Department of Justice has determined that the district court’s judgment should be affirmed,” wrote three Justice Department lawyers. “[T]he United States is not urging that any portion of the district court’s judgment be reversed.”
The administration’s decision was reportedly driven by then-domestic policy chief Joe Grogan and acting director of the Office of Management and Budget Russ Vought, both close allies of then-acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, according to a Politico report last March. Mulvaney was a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus when he was a Congress member from South Carolina.
According to the Politico report, Barr and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar opposed changing the DOJ position in the suit, putting Barr in the awkward position of running the department responsible for arguing the case. Supporting throwing out the law without a viable Republican plan to replace it, they argued, would play badly electorally.
At the time, HHS spokesperson Caitlin Oakley denied that Azar opposed the administration’s new position in the case to Politico. “Any insinuation that Secretary Azar has ‘butted heads’ with Mulvaney on this issue is false,” she said in a statement.
The timing of the case means that a SCOTUS decision will likely come after this fall’s general election. That won’t stop Democrats from hammering Republicans on the issue throughout the campaign season.
Former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, released a statement Wednesday denouncing Trump’s decision to follow through his support for the suit. “By siding with the Republican Attorneys-General who are seeking to invalidate the ACA in the U.S. Supreme Court, Trump has made clear where his priorities lie,” he wrote, saying that Trump doesn’t side with people with preexisting conditions or those who may develop preexisting conditions due to Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
“Trump has decided he’d rather destroy President Obama’s legacy than protect the health care of millions upon millions of Americans. He’d rather look after the profits of the insurance industry than make sure people can access healthcare in their hour of need. It’s despicable,” Biden said.


vox--2020-05-06--Why are Russian coronavirus doctors mysteriously falling out of windows?

Three Russian doctors working to treat coronavirus patients have mysteriously fallen out of windows in recent weeks , underscoring the country ’ s struggling health care system — and leading to suspicions of foul play .
On April 24 , Natalya Lebedeva , the chief of emergency medical services at a training base for Russian astronauts , fell out of a window at the hospital where she was being treated for a Covid-19 infection and died .
Yelena Nepomnyashchaya , the top doctor at a hospital in Siberia , fell out of a window during a conference call at her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a week in intensive care .
The next day , ambulance doctor Alexander Shulepov fell from a second-floor window at the hospital where he worked and had been receiving treatment for Covid-19 .
He remains in serious condition with a fractured skull .
Russian authorities are investigating all three incidents , and there is no official indication yet of what happened to the physicians .
The circumstances around their falls , though , are more than a little suspicious .
For example , Nepomnyashchaya was on a conference call with a top Russian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the buildings at her medical facility into a coronavirus treatment ward .
She disagreed with the idea , and fell out of the window during the call , according to local media .
And Shulepov had , along with a colleague , posted a video online on April 22 — the day he was admitted for coronavirus care — complaining that he had been forced to work despite contracting the disease .
Five days later , Shulepov retracted his comments , saying he had spoken in “ an emotional state.
” Less @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out of a window .
The circumstances around Lebedeva ’ s fall at the Russian astronaut training center are less clear , with the hospital where she died releasing a statement saying she “ died tragically ” in an “ accident , ” with no additional details provided .
So what ’ s going on here ?
Is it possible this is all an unfortunate coincidence ?
Are Russian medical facilities , creaking under the strain of the coronavirus , struggling to keep people safe ?
Or is there something more nefarious going @ @ @ @ @ @ @ killing people who speak out about the failures of the country ’ s coronavirus response ?
Nobody yet knows for sure , but it ’ s worth looking into what we do know about each incident and the theories surrounding them .
What we know about the lives and falls of the three doctors The amount of available details on each case varies widely .
But what ’ s available at least allows for some idea of what happened .
Not much has yet come out on Lebedeva , the 48-year-old who led @ @ @ @ @ @ @ training base in Star City , just on the outskirts of Moscow .
Some reports indicate she may have helped treat Moscow ’ s coronavirus “ patient zero.
” After she contracted the coronavirus , she was hospitalized at the Federal Scientific Clinical Center in Moscow on April 20 .
Four days later , she fell out of a sixth-floor window and died instantly .
The hospital labeled her plunge an accident in a statement , also offering some kind words about her time leading the medical team : “ She was a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ human lives every day !
” But other than that , much remains a mystery .
More is known about what happened in the case of Nepomnyashchaya , the 47-year-old who ran the Krasnoyarsk Regional Hospital for War Veterans .
During an April conference call with Boris Nemik , the regional minister of health , she pushed back on demands for her to make 80 beds in a part of her hospital available to treat coronavirus patients .
Reportedly , her biggest concern was that her staff didn ’ t have enough personal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The local Ministry of Health denied that her 50-foot fall from her office window had anything to do with the conference call .
And Aleksey Podkorytov , the deputy head of the Krasnoyarsk region ’ s government , offered some alternative explanations for her plunge .
“ So many things could have happened , ” he told reporters in April .
“ It could have been because it was spring , the overall stress , something in her family .
It ’ s difficult to say what could have happened .
...
There @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , just a routine conference call with doctors ’ reports.
” As for Shulepov , who fell out of the Novousmanskaya hospital ’ s second-floor window last Saturday , more is known because of what he posted online .
On April 22 , the 37-year-old physician and his colleague Alexander Kosyakin made a video in which they claimed they still had to work at their hospital despite falling ill with the coronavirus .
“ Ambulance doctor Alexander Shulepov is next to me , he is just confirmed Covid-19 , ” Kosyakin said in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is forcing us to work .
What do we do in this situation ?
” “ We are not leaving the shift , ” Kosyakin continued .
“ Myself and Alexander ha [ ve ] been working together for a month .
This is the situation .
Everyone says it ’ s fake [ but ] these are real facts for you.
” They also noted that the southwestern city of Voronezh — where they both work — was low on personal protective equipment .
But five days later , Shulepov had changed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Instagram .
“ I have a runny nose , otherwise all is well , ” he said , adding that “ we were high on emotions ” when he and Kosyakin made the first video .
Some think it ’ s possible authorities put pressure on Shulepov .
His colleague , Kosyakin , had previously complained about the lack of medical equipment and hospital leadership , leading police to question him for allegedly posting fake news .
Kosyakin , who spoke to CNN on Tuesday , seems suspicious about what happened to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with his colleague on April 30 , “ He felt fine , he was getting ready to get discharged from the hospital , ” Kosyakin said .
“ And all of a sudden this happened , it ’ s not clear why and what for , so many questions that I don ’ t even have the answer to.
” Asked about Shulepov ’ s case , the regional ministry of health told CNN he “ is a victim of an accident due to his own lack of caution ” and is receiving @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Three incidents , three mysteries .
It remains unclear what happened in each case , but experts have some thoughts .
Three leading theories for what ’ s going on Ask a group of Russia experts what ’ s going on with these cases and you ’ ll likely get a different answer from each one .
But three explanations seem to be the most prevalent : suicides , assassinations , and the perils of an ailing health care system .
Dr. Vasiliy Vlassov , an epidemiologist at the Higher School of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be cases of death by suicide .
“ I believe that this cluster is a reflection of really high incidence of suicides nowadays , because chief physicians are working under high pressure , ” he told me .
Because guns are hard to obtain in the country , “ jumping is a reasonable option.
” Judy Twigg , an expert on Russia ’ s health care system at Virginia Commonwealth University , agreed .
She told me all three cases have “ intense stress ” in common , either over the lack of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the individuals worked or because the people got sick themselves .
Further , the three cases happened outside Moscow , which has most of the funding and medical equipment needed to properly treat coronavirus patients .
The facilities where the three doctors worked , like many others in the country and around the world , “ are breaking more under the strain , ” Twigg said .
Death by suicide is a plausible theory , as suicide is a persistent national problem .
According to the World Health Organization , Russia has the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In 2016 , the latest year for which there ’ s complete data , about 122 people a day died by suicide in Russia , adding up to around 45,000 deaths .
That explanation is bolstered by reporting from the Russian daily Moskovsky Komsomolets , which quoted some of Lebedeva ’ s colleagues claiming she had been accused of spreading the disease to her subordinates , so therefore it was possible she died by suicide .
“ I would not be surprised if the security services were involved , sending a message to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said Alina Polyakova , president of the Center for European Policy Analysis .
For many , that might sound conspiratorial .
Would the Russian government really kill medical professionals just because they questioned or criticized the country ’ s handling of the coronavirus crisis ?
But this theory is not as far-fetched as it may seem .
“ It ’ s not a conspiracy theory , ” Toomas Hendrik Ilves , Estonia ’ s president from 2006 to 2016 , tweeted on Monday .
He added that “ defenestrations are a long term @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the act of throwing someone out of a window .
There are previous cases of Russian officials allegedly trying to kill adversaries by pushing them out of windows .
In 2017 , Russian lawyer Nikolai Gorokhov was due to testify in a Moscow court against the government .
But the day before he could do so , he fell from his fourth-floor apartment .
The first news outlet to arrive at the scene ?
LifeNews , an outlet closely associated with Russia ’ s security services .
In a 2017 interview with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ d fractured his skull but ultimately survived the fall — said what happened to him was likely foul play .
“ This was no accident , ” he said .
“ Someone planned this , but unfortunately I do not remember the details.
” He refused to elaborate further , saying he feared for his life and for the safety of his family .
There ’ s also a pattern of Kremlin adversaries being assassinated through other , even more elaborate means .
For example , in 2009 Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had uncovered a massive government-linked fraud scheme that threatened top officials .
Six years later , Boris Nemtsov , a top rival to President Vladimir Putin , was killed in the heart of Moscow .
And in 2018 , two Russians tried to kill with a nerve agent a former Kremlin spy living in the UK .
Murder , then , may not be completely out of the question .
At a time when Russia ’ s medical facilities are full and safety isn ’ t a top concern , it ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the span of a few weeks made tragic missteps simply because they were tired and overworked .
“ This is really about the destruction of our healthcare system , ” Anastasia Vasilyeva , a staunch Kremlin critic and head of the Alliance of Doctors Union , told CNN on Tuesday .
“ A lot of clinics and hospitals have been closed .
... And , of course , this means it is very difficult to treat in such conditions a lot of patients with coronavirus.
” This is conceivable .
Though Russia ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prepared for a large public health crisis , at least compared to many other countries , it has a problem with old and faulty equipment .
And many facilities outside the country ’ s two major urban areas — Moscow and St. Petersburg — lack the resources to provide proper care .
But , as even President Vladimir Putin admits , the coronavirus crisis in the country is getting worse and worse .
“ Ahead of us is a new stage , perhaps the most intense stage of the fight against the epidemic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ address last week , in which he also announced an extension of his nation ’ s lockdown until May 11 .
“ The risks of getting infected are at the highest level , and the threat , the mortal danger of the virus persists.
” As Russia becomes one of Europe ’ s worst-hit countries , it ’ s possible that weary , ill physicians may have taken some missteps in such trying times .
The hope is that Russian authorities not only fully investigate what ’ s happened but provide detailed , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s track record , that outcome could be the least likely of all .
Every day at Vox , we aim to answer your most important questions and provide you , and our audience around the world , with information that has the power to save lives .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
Vox ’ s work is reaching more people than ever , but our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources — particularly during a pandemic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ contribution will not constitute a donation , but it will enable our staff to continue to offer free articles , videos , and podcasts at the quality and volume that this moment requires .
Please consider making a contribution to Vox today .

Three Russian doctors working to treat coronavirus patients have mysteriously fallen out of windows in recent weeks, underscoring the country’s struggling health care system — and leading to suspicions of foul play.
On April 24, Natalya Lebedeva, the chief of emergency medical services at a training base for Russian astronauts, fell out of a window at the hospital where she was being treated for a Covid-19 infection and died.
Yelena Nepomnyashchaya, the top doctor at a hospital in Siberia, fell out of a window during a conference call at her hospital and died on May 1 after a week in intensive care.
The next day, ambulance doctor Alexander Shulepov fell from a second-floor window at the hospital where he worked and had been receiving treatment for Covid-19. He remains in serious condition with a fractured skull.
Russian authorities are investigating all three incidents, and there is no official indication yet of what happened to the physicians. The circumstances around their falls, though, are more than a little suspicious.
For example, Nepomnyashchaya was on a conference call with a top Russian health official about plans for turning one of the buildings at her medical facility into a coronavirus treatment ward. She disagreed with the idea, and fell out of the window during the call, according to local media.
And Shulepov had, along with a colleague, posted a video online on April 22 — the day he was admitted for coronavirus care — complaining that he had been forced to work despite contracting the disease. Five days later, Shulepov retracted his comments, saying he had spoken in “an emotional state.” Less than a week later, he fell out of a window.
The circumstances around Lebedeva’s fall at the Russian astronaut training center are less clear, with the hospital where she died releasing a statement saying she “died tragically” in an “accident,” with no additional details provided.
So what’s going on here? Is it possible this is all an unfortunate coincidence? Are Russian medical facilities, creaking under the strain of the coronavirus, struggling to keep people safe? Or is there something more nefarious going on? Is the Russian government surreptitiously killing people who speak out about the failures of the country’s coronavirus response?
Nobody yet knows for sure, but it’s worth looking into what we do know about each incident and the theories surrounding them.
What we know about the lives and falls of the three doctors
The amount of available details on each case varies widely. But what’s available at least allows for some idea of what happened.
Not much has yet come out on Lebedeva, the 48-year-old who led the emergency medical team in the astronaut training base in Star City, just on the outskirts of Moscow. Some reports indicate she may have helped treat Moscow’s coronavirus “patient zero.”
After she contracted the coronavirus, she was hospitalized at the Federal Scientific Clinical Center in Moscow on April 20. Four days later, she fell out of a sixth-floor window and died instantly.
The hospital labeled her plunge an accident in a statement, also offering some kind words about her time leading the medical team: “She was a true professional in her field, saving human lives every day!” But other than that, much remains a mystery.
More is known about what happened in the case of Nepomnyashchaya, the 47-year-old who ran the Krasnoyarsk Regional Hospital for War Veterans.
During an April conference call with Boris Nemik, the regional minister of health, she pushed back on demands for her to make 80 beds in a part of her hospital available to treat coronavirus patients. Reportedly, her biggest concern was that her staff didn’t have enough personal protective equipment to treat Covid-19 patients.
The local Ministry of Health denied that her 50-foot fall from her office window had anything to do with the conference call. And Aleksey Podkorytov, the deputy head of the Krasnoyarsk region’s government, offered some alternative explanations for her plunge.
“So many things could have happened,” he told reporters in April. “It could have been because it was spring, the overall stress, something in her family. It’s difficult to say what could have happened. ... There was nothing extraordinary happening at the time, just a routine conference call with doctors’ reports.”
As for Shulepov, who fell out of the Novousmanskaya hospital’s second-floor window last Saturday, more is known because of what he posted online. On April 22, the 37-year-old physician and his colleague Alexander Kosyakin made a video in which they claimed they still had to work at their hospital despite falling ill with the coronavirus.
“Ambulance doctor Alexander Shulepov is next to me, he is just confirmed Covid-19,” Kosyakin said in the video. “The chief doctor is forcing us to work. What do we do in this situation?”
“We are not leaving the shift,” Kosyakin continued. “Myself and Alexander ha[ve] been working together for a month. This is the situation. Everyone says it’s fake [but] these are real facts for you.” They also noted that the southwestern city of Voronezh — where they both work — was low on personal protective equipment.
But five days later, Shulepov had changed his message in a new video posted to Instagram. “I have a runny nose, otherwise all is well,” he said, adding that “we were high on emotions” when he and Kosyakin made the first video.
Some think it’s possible authorities put pressure on Shulepov. His colleague, Kosyakin, had previously complained about the lack of medical equipment and hospital leadership, leading police to question him for allegedly posting fake news.
Kosyakin, who spoke to CNN on Tuesday, seems suspicious about what happened to Shulepov. When he last checked in with his colleague on April 30, “He felt fine, he was getting ready to get discharged from the hospital,” Kosyakin said. “And all of a sudden this happened, it’s not clear why and what for, so many questions that I don’t even have the answer to.”
Asked about Shulepov’s case, the regional ministry of health told CNN he “is a victim of an accident due to his own lack of caution” and is receiving medical treatment for his severely injured skull.
Three incidents, three mysteries. It remains unclear what happened in each case, but experts have some thoughts.
Three leading theories for what’s going on
Ask a group of Russia experts what’s going on with these cases and you’ll likely get a different answer from each one. But three explanations seem to be the most prevalent: suicides, assassinations, and the perils of an ailing health care system.
Suicide
Dr. Vasiliy Vlassov, an epidemiologist at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow, said these could be cases of death by suicide. “I believe that this cluster is a reflection of really high incidence of suicides nowadays, because chief physicians are working under high pressure,” he told me. Because guns are hard to obtain in the country, “jumping is a reasonable option.”
Judy Twigg, an expert on Russia’s health care system at Virginia Commonwealth University, agreed. She told me all three cases have “intense stress” in common, either over the lack of personal protective equipment in the hospitals where the individuals worked or because the people got sick themselves.
Further, the three cases happened outside Moscow, which has most of the funding and medical equipment needed to properly treat coronavirus patients. The facilities where the three doctors worked, like many others in the country and around the world, “are breaking more under the strain,” Twigg said.
Death by suicide is a plausible theory, as suicide is a persistent national problem. According to the World Health Organization, Russia has the third-highest suicide rate in the world. In 2016, the latest year for which there’s complete data, about 122 people a day died by suicide in Russia, adding up to around 45,000 deaths.
That explanation is bolstered by reporting from the Russian daily Moskovsky Komsomolets, which quoted some of Lebedeva’s colleagues claiming she had been accused of spreading the disease to her subordinates, so therefore it was possible she died by suicide.
Assassination
“I would not be surprised if the security services were involved, sending a message to keep quiet on the crisis,” said Alina Polyakova, president of the Center for European Policy Analysis.
For many, that might sound conspiratorial. Would the Russian government really kill medical professionals just because they questioned or criticized the country’s handling of the coronavirus crisis?
But this theory is not as far-fetched as it may seem. “It’s not a conspiracy theory,” Toomas Hendrik Ilves, Estonia’s president from 2006 to 2016, tweeted on Monday. He added that “defenestrations are a long term practice,” using the technical term for the act of throwing someone out of a window.
There are previous cases of Russian officials allegedly trying to kill adversaries by pushing them out of windows. In 2017, Russian lawyer Nikolai Gorokhov was due to testify in a Moscow court against the government. But the day before he could do so, he fell from his fourth-floor apartment. The first news outlet to arrive at the scene? LifeNews, an outlet closely associated with Russia’s security services.
In a 2017 interview with NBC News, Gorokhov — who’d fractured his skull but ultimately survived the fall — said what happened to him was likely foul play. “This was no accident,” he said. “Someone planned this, but unfortunately I do not remember the details.” He refused to elaborate further, saying he feared for his life and for the safety of his family.
There’s also a pattern of Kremlin adversaries being assassinated through other, even more elaborate means. For example, in 2009 Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky was poisoned in prison, likely because he had uncovered a massive government-linked fraud scheme that threatened top officials. Six years later, Boris Nemtsov, a top rival to President Vladimir Putin, was killed in the heart of Moscow. And in 2018, two Russians tried to kill with a nerve agent a former Kremlin spy living in the UK.
Murder, then, may not be completely out of the question.
A stressed health care system
At a time when Russia’s medical facilities are full and safety isn’t a top concern, it’s possible that three health care providers over the span of a few weeks made tragic missteps simply because they were tired and overworked.
“This is really about the destruction of our healthcare system,” Anastasia Vasilyeva, a staunch Kremlin critic and head of the Alliance of Doctors Union, told CNN on Tuesday. “A lot of clinics and hospitals have been closed. ... And, of course, this means it is very difficult to treat in such conditions a lot of patients with coronavirus.”
This is conceivable. Though Russia’s health care system was relatively well prepared for a large public health crisis, at least compared to many other countries, it has a problem with old and faulty equipment. And many facilities outside the country’s two major urban areas — Moscow and St. Petersburg — lack the resources to provide proper care.
But, as even President Vladimir Putin admits, the coronavirus crisis in the country is getting worse and worse.
“Ahead of us is a new stage, perhaps the most intense stage of the fight against the epidemic,” Putin said in a national address last week, in which he also announced an extension of his nation’s lockdown until May 11. “The risks of getting infected are at the highest level, and the threat, the mortal danger of the virus persists.”
As Russia becomes one of Europe’s worst-hit countries, it’s possible that weary, ill physicians may have taken some missteps in such trying times.
The hope is that Russian authorities not only fully investigate what’s happened but provide detailed, truthful answers. But given Russia’s track record, that outcome could be the least likely of all.


vox--2020-05-06--The killing of Ahmaud Arbery, an unarmed black jogger in Georgia, explained

A video showing the last moments of a young unarmed black man ’ s life has sparked outrage among criminal justice advocates across the country — and has led a Georgia prosecutor to call for a grand jury to investigate the fatal shooting .
Ahmaud Arbery , 25 , was shot and killed in the Satilla Shores neighborhood on February 23 , 2020 , following an altercation with a white father and son .
The men — Gregory and Travis McMichael , the former a retired district attorney investigator and police detective — armed themselves and followed Arbery in Travis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him jog by ; they later told police officers they believed Arbery to be a suspect in two burglaries in the area .
Previously , the only public record of Arbery ’ s final moments were the statements the McMichaels gave to police .
But a video depicting a struggle between Arbery and Travis McMichael went viral on Tuesday , after being posted ( and then deleted ) by a radio station .
Arbery ’ s mother , Wanda Cooper , told CBS News that the newly emerged video “ proves that my @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He was out for his daily jog and he was hunted down like an animal and killed.
” The video has led to widespread calls for further investigation into Arbery ’ s death .
It ’ s also been compared with the shooting deaths of other unarmed black people , including 17-year-old Trayvon Martin and Botham Jean , who was killed in his Dallas apartment in 2018 .
It also sparked protests in Georgia — where social distancing requirements were recently relaxed — with hundreds of people marching through Satilla Shores on Tuesday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” and chanting , “ We want justice !
” “ The video is very clear that they were on the truck with guns hunting him down , ” civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump , who represents Arbery ’ s father , told the Associated Press .
“ I don ’ t know what more you need to make an arrest.
” But before any arrests can be made in Arbery ’ s shooting death , there needs to be some sort of investigation , which has so far been limited as a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ case .
Tom Durden , the district attorney looking into the killing , said in a statement Tuesday that a grand jury would decide whether criminal charges should be brought against the McMichaels — but such a jury can ’ t be called while courts are closed due to the coronavirus pandemic .
This has frustrated Arbery ’ s supporters , who argue that his killing — and the subsequent actions of local law enforcement — shows how little has changed in an area of Georgia that ’ s been described as dotted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of mobs of white men taking justice into their own hands in a manner that leaves black men dead .
Everything we know about Ahmaud Arbery ’ s killing Much of what we know about the circumstances around Arbery ’ s death comes from four sources : a police report filed after he was killed , several 911 calls , accounts from Arbery ’ s friends and family , and a viral video .
None of these provide a complete picture of the 25-year-old ’ s killing .
The police report captures only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ former police detective and district attorney investigator in Brunswick County .
The 911 recordings feature unknown callers .
It is not clear who took the video , which was filmed through the windshield of a vehicle and has obstructed views of certain key moments .
And no friends or family were with Arbery at the time of his death .
“ The video is very clear that they were on the truck with guns hunting him down .
I don ’ t know what more you need to make an arrest.
” Arbery @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , was passionate about staying in shape , according to friends and family , who told the New York Times he often spent his free time running .
He went for one such run on February 23 , ending up in Satilla Shores , a few miles away from his home in Glynn County .
Gregory McMichael claims he was in his front yard when he saw Arbery “ hauling ass , ” after which he ran inside to get a weapon and his son , Travis .
He told police that he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is running down the street , let ’ s go.
” By “ the guy , ” he meant the person responsible for what some in the neighborhood have described as two burglaries .
Larry English , a man building a home in the McMichaels ’ neighborhood , said someone stole $ 2,500 in fishing gear from him earlier this year .
English told the Daily Beast he never reported the theft .
The second was reported to police by Travis McMichael , who said a 9mm pistol was stolen on January 1 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In the police report filed after Arbery ’ s killing , Gregory McMichael said the burglar had been caught on surveillance video and that Arbery matched the description of the suspect .
There seemed to be concern about Arbery ’ s presence in the neighborhood for much of his time there on the afternoon of February 23 ; although it is not clear who made them , several calls were placed to 911 .
Satilla Shores is a predominantly white neighborhood , one the Daily Beast ’ s Justin Glawe describes as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump flags , one bearing the president ’ s smiling face with the phrase , Make liberals cry again.
” The first featured a caller expressing distress about Arbery being near a house that is under construction on property owned by English .
The caller claimed Arbery was inside the home , which is open to the air due to the construction ; the dispatcher asked what Arbery was doing wrong but never received an answer .
Arbery ’ s family has said he ’ s always been inquisitive and was likely just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the home , since that ’ s something one doesn ’ t see every day .
After that first call , 911 received another , in which the caller said , “ I ’ m out here at Satilla Shores .
There ’ s a black male running down the street.
” The caller can be heard yelling , “ Watch that .
Stop , damn it !
Stop !
” but stops responding the dispatcher ’ s inquiries .
As these calls were being made , the McMichaels were preparing to pursue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ armed himself with a .357 magnum while his son got a shotgun .
George told police he felt the weapons were called for because he ’ d seen Arbery in the neighborhood previously with his hand in his pants in a manner suggestive of a firearm .
Then the men got into Travis McMichael ’ s pickup truck and began to chase Arbery through the neighborhood .
Arbery ’ s uncle told the Brunswick News that Arbery was amazingly fast and agile .
And the police report suggests that — despite being on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a time .
George McMichael claims his son tried to cut off Arbery with his truck , but that he turned around and ran in the other direction .
The police report mentions another person , identified only as “ Roddy , ” tried unsuccessfully to cut Arbery off with their vehicle as well .
McMichael claims they were able to catch up with Arbery and shouted out of the truck , “ Stop , stop , we want to talk to you , ” before stopping the truck beside him , at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Then , McMichael claims , Arbery attacked his son , the two men fought over the shotgun , two shots were fired , and then Arbery fell , bleeding .
The officer who wrote the report said Arbery died not long after police arrived on the scene .
But the video — filmed from a vehicle — appears to show something slightly different .
Civil rights attorney S. Lee Merritt , who is representing Arbery ’ s family , reposted the video on his Twitter account Tuesday .
As the vehicle turns @ @ @ @ @ @ @ black man wearing a white shirt — what Arbery was described as wearing in 911 calls — can be seen running .
A white pickup truck blocks his path ; a white man is in the street next to the driver ’ s side of the truck , and another stands in the flatbed .
The video is blocked by the dashboard for a moment , and some unintelligible yelling can be heard .
The video then shows the black man trying to run around the truck by way of the passenger ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ possible to see what happens next , but there ’ s a gunshot ; the black man and the white man who was standing in the road reappear in the frame , engaged in a struggle , and move off the road , again leaving the video ’ s frame .
As the man in the flatbed brings up his firearm , there ’ s another gunshot .
The video Merritt posted ends with the struggle — seemingly over possession of a firearm — continuing .
A longer version available online features a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ falling to the pavement , his shirt seemingly red with blood .
When police arrived , Arbery was “ on the ground ‘ bleeding out , ’ ” according to the report .
Travis McMichael had blood on his hands ; his father said this was from Travis rolling Arbery ’ s body over to check for a gun .
Arbery ’ s supporters say this is a clear case of racist murder — but complications have inhibited an investigation Advocates for Arbery argue his killing is a very clear case of racial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ video , Merritt wrote , “ Ahmaud Arbery was pursued by three white men that targeted him solely because of his race and murdered him without justification.
” It ’ s a sentiment echoed by others , including presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden , who tweeted Tuesday , “ The video is clear : Ahmaud Arbery was killed in cold blood.
” Stacey Abrams , who narrowly lost Georgia ’ s 2018 gubernatorial election and who has said she hopes to become Biden ’ s running mate , demanded a “ full @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unbiased prosecution.
” But charges have been slow in coming , due to conflicts of interest and Georgia ’ s stand-your-ground law and citizen ’ s arrest law .
The case is on its third prosecutor ; the first put in charge of the case , Brunswick District Attorney Jackie Johnson recused herself because she ’ d previously employed George McMichael .
The district attorney of Waycross , Georgia , George Barnhill , was then assigned it , but he recused himself after Arbery ’ s mother pointed out his son works in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recusal , however , Barnhill wrote a letter laying out the reasons he felt the McMichaels had done nothing wrong , noting Georgia has an open-carry law , that a separate state law allows a private citizen to attempt arrests if an “ offense is committed in his presence or within his immediate knowledge , ” and that it has a stand-your-ground law that allows someone who feels threatened “ to use deadly force to protect himself , ” without having to first try to retreat or call law enforcement .
Merritt has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ laws , telling CNN he doesn ’ t believe the McMichaels were trying to make a citizen ’ s arrest , noting that the McMichaels ’ statements frame the shooting as an act of self-defense .
And he said the citizen ’ s arrest law says “ you actually have to be observing the crime or be in the immediate knowledge of the crime ” but argues the McMichaels never claimed this was the case .
“ The only thing they have ever said is ... that Ahmaud stopped by a house that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the window , ” Merritt said Sunday .
“ We don ’ t know if that happened or not , but even if that did happen , that is not a felony that would invoke the citizen ’ s arrest statute that would make this allowable.
” Merritt has also pushed back against other claims in Barnhill ’ s letter , including that Arbery had mental health issues as well as the district attorney ’ s efforts to point out Arbery was once convicted of shoplifting and of bringing a gun to campus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ The reference to ... alleged conduct from high school or shoplifting is absurd and has nothing to do with his murder , ” Merritt said .
The real root of the killing , Merritt suggested , can be seen in the 911 calls , when the caller fails to give a clear reason for the call but does note , “ There ’ s a black male running down the street.
” Gregory McMichael told the Daily Beast Arbery ’ s race has nothing to do with anything and that he “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their color , ” saying instead that Barnhill ’ s letter is the “ closest version of the truth.
” The actual version of the truth may come to light soon , however .
District Attorney Tom Durden of Hinesville , Georgia , has now taken over for Barnhill .
He promised to look at the case without “ any preconceived idea about it.
” Tuesday , Durden announced he will have a grand jury investigate the killing .
However , it will not be able to do so for at least a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ parlors , and other nonessential businesses are open in Georgia , the court will be closed until at least June 13 due to Covid-19 concerns .
Durden did not say what charges the grand jury would consider but did say he had accepted an offer from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation — an independent state agency with investigative and forensic expertise — for assistance .
Gov .
Kemp promoted the offer on Twitter Tuesday , writing , “ Georgians deserve answers .
State law enforcement stands ready to ensure justice is served.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they plan to ensure the same — and some , like the Southern Poverty Law Center , have called for a federal investigation , citing delays in the state-level efforts .
“ Any system that stands by as an unarmed man is gunned down in the street without any obvious justifiable reason , is also filled with bias and hate , ” Margaret Huang , president and CEO of the Southern Poverty Law Center , wrote in a statement .
“ That these people have not been charged or held to account in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of respect that law enforcement in Glynn County have for Black lives.
” And what those volumes say , according to Georgia ’ s NAACP , is “ what we all know to be true — justice for all is just not specific enough.
” Correction : An earlier version of this story miscategorized the incidents described by Larry English and Travis McMichael .
They were burglaries .
Every day at Vox , we aim to answer your most important questions and provide you , and our audience around the world , with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lives .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
Vox ’ s work is reaching more people than ever , but our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources — particularly during a pandemic and an economic downturn .
Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation , but it will enable our staff to continue to offer free articles , videos , and podcasts at the quality and volume that this moment requires .
Please consider making a contribution @ @ @ @

Editor’s note, November 24, 2021: This article was last updated in June 2020. Travis and Gregory McMichael and William Bryan have since been found guilty in Ahmaud Arbery’s murder. To read our latest coverage of the verdict, click here.
The three white men arrested in the fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery — an unarmed black man who was attacked while jogging — were indicted on murder charges Wednesday by a grand jury in Georgia.
Arbery was killed on February 23, when Gregory McMichael, 64, a retired district attorney investigator and police detective, and his son Travis McMichael, 34, armed themselves and followed him in a pickup truck after seeing him jog by. They later told police officers they believed Arbery to be a suspect in two burglaries in the Satilla Shores area.
The McMichaels — along with neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan, who filmed the incident — were arrested and charged last month with murder. And on Wednesday, District Attorney Joyette M. Holmes announced that the Glynn County grand jury had returned an indictment on all three defendants, including four counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, and one count each of false imprisonment and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment.
While the shooting happened months ago, the case did not receive national attention until Bryan’s graphic video — released by Arbery’s family and showing the last moments of the 25-year-old’s life — went viral on May 5.
Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, told CBS News that the video “proves that my son was not committing a crime. He was out for his daily jog and he was hunted down like an animal and killed.”
The footage sparked outrage among criminal justice advocates across the country, and led to the call for a grand jury to investigate the fatal shooting. The Department of Justice is also looking into hate crime charges and reviewing how Arbery’s killing was handled on the state and local levels.
Arbery’s death has been compared with the shooting deaths of many other unarmed black people, including 17-year-old Trayvon Martin and Botham Jean, who was killed in his Dallas apartment in 2018. Protests have continued in Georgia — where social distancing requirements were recently relaxed — with hundreds of people marching through Satilla Shores, promising to “run with Maud” and chanting, “We want justice!”
“The video is very clear that they were on the truck with guns hunting him down,” civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, who represents Arbery’s father, told the Associated Press. “I don’t know what more you need to make an arrest.”
Prior to the video’s release, the only public record of Arbery’s final moments were the statements the McMichaels gave to police. An investigation into the shooting had been limited, as a series of prosecutors recused themselves from the case over their ties to Gregory McMichael. This has frustrated Arbery’s supporters, who argue that his killing — and the subsequent actions of local law enforcement — shows how little has changed in an area of Georgia that’s been described as dotted with Confederate flags, with a history of mobs of white men taking justice into their own hands in a manner that leaves black men dead.
Everything we know about Ahmaud Arbery’s killing
Arbery, a former high school football star, was passionate about staying in shape, according to friends and family, who told the New York Times he often spent his free time running. He went for one such run on February 23, ending up in Satilla Shores, a few miles away from his home in Glynn County.
“The video is very clear that they were on the truck with guns hunting him down. I don’t know what more you need to make an arrest.”
Gregory McMichael claims he was in his front yard when he saw Arbery “hauling ass,” after which he ran inside to get a weapon and his son, Travis. He told police that he said, “Travis, the guy is running down the street, let’s go.”
By “the guy,” he meant the person responsible for what some in the neighborhood have described as two burglaries. Larry English, a man whose home was under construction in the McMichaels’ neighborhood, said someone stole $2,500 in fishing gear from him earlier this year, but he never reported the theft, he told the Daily Beast; he also never accused Arbery of committing any crimes.
It has since come to light, however, that the Glynn County Police Department contacted English in December 2019, asking him to reach out to Gregory McMichael whenever he “got action” on his surveillance camera, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Greg is retired Law Enforcement and also a Retired Investigator from the DA’s office,” Officer Robert Rash texted English, along with McMichael’s phone number. “He said please call him day or night when you get action on your camera.” English’s attorney said her client never took McMichael up on his offer.
Trespassing on English’s property was, apparently, a common occurrence. In mid-May, CNN obtained 11 surveillance clips from English’s attorney and found that multiple people, including women and children, had entered the home in the months leading up to Arbery’s death. The only confirmed instance of Arbery himself being on the property was on February 23.
The second burglary in the area was reported to police by Travis McMichael, who said a 9 mm pistol was stolen on January 1 from a vehicle parked outside his home. In the police report filed after Arbery’s killing, Gregory McMichael said the burglar had been caught on surveillance video and that Arbery matched the description of the suspect.
There seemed to be concern about Arbery’s presence in the neighborhood for much of his time there on the afternoon of February 23; several calls, at least one of which was from the McMichaels, were placed to 911. Satilla Shores is a predominantly white neighborhood, one the Daily Beast’s Justin Glawe describes as featuring “several homes ... decorated with Trump flags, one bearing the president’s smiling face with the phrase, Make liberals cry again.”
The first featured a caller expressing distress about Arbery being near a house that is under construction on property owned by English. The dispatcher asked what Arbery was doing wrong but never received an answer. Arbery’s family has said he’s always been inquisitive and was likely just having a look at the bones of the home, since that’s something one doesn’t see every day.
After that first call, 911 received another, in which the caller said, “I’m out here at Satilla Shores. There’s a black male running down the street.” The caller can be heard yelling, “Watch that. Stop, damn it! Stop!” but stops responding to the dispatcher’s inquiries.
As these calls were being made, the McMichaels were preparing to pursue Arbery. Gregory McMichael told police he armed himself with a .357 magnum while his son got a shotgun. He told police he felt the weapons were called for because he’d seen Arbery in the neighborhood previously with his hand in his pants in a manner suggestive of a firearm. Then the men got into Travis McMichael’s pickup truck and began to chase Arbery through the neighborhood.
Arbery’s uncle told the Brunswick News that Arbery was amazingly fast and agile. And the police report suggests that — despite being on foot — he evaded the McMichaels for a time. Gregory McMichael claims his son tried to cut off Arbery with his truck, but that he turned around and ran in the other direction.
The police report mentions another person, identified only as “Roddy” — William Bryan — who tried unsuccessfully to cut Arbery off with his vehicle.
McMichael claims they were able to catch up with Arbery and shouted out of the truck, “Stop, stop, we want to talk to you,” before stopping the truck beside him, at which point Travis exited with his shotgun. Then, McMichael claims, Arbery attacked his son, the two men fought over the shotgun, two shots were fired, and then Arbery fell, bleeding. The officer who wrote the report said Arbery died not long after police arrived on the scene.
But the video — filmed by Bryan from his vehicle — appears to show something slightly different. Civil rights attorney S. Lee Merritt, who is representing Arbery’s family, reposted the video on his Twitter account on May 5.
As the vehicle turns a bend in a road, a black man wearing a white shirt — what Arbery was described as wearing in 911 calls — can be seen running. A white pickup truck, ostensibly the McMichaels’, blocks his path; a white man is in the street next to the driver’s side of the truck, and another stands in the flatbed. The video is blocked by the dashboard for a moment, and some unintelligible yelling can be heard. The video then shows the black man trying to run around the truck.
It’s not possible to see what happens next, but there’s a gunshot; the black man and the white man who was standing in the road reappear in the frame, engaged in a struggle, and move off the road, again leaving the video’s frame. As the man in the flatbed brings up his firearm, there’s another gunshot. The video Merritt posted ends with the struggle — seemingly over possession of a firearm — continuing. A longer version available online features a third gunshot, and the black man falling to the pavement, his shirt seemingly red with blood.
While the police were en route, Arbery was “on the ground ‘bleeding out,’” according to the report. Travis McMichael had blood on his hands; his father said this was from Travis rolling Arbery’s body over to check for a gun.
An autopsy report released May 12 revealed that Arbery was shot twice in the chest and “had a third wound” on one of his wrists.
Arbery’s supporters say this is a clear case of racist murder — but complications have inhibited an investigation
Advocates for Arbery argue his killing is a very clear case of racial profiling; in his caption for the video, Merritt wrote, “Ahmaud Arbery was pursued by three white men that targeted him solely because of his race and murdered him without justification.”
It’s a sentiment echoed by others, including presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, who tweeted, “The video is clear: Ahmaud Arbery was killed in cold blood.”
Stacey Abrams, who narrowly lost Georgia’s 2018 gubernatorial election and who has said she hopes to become Biden’s running mate, demanded a “full investigation, appropriate charges, and an unbiased prosecution.”
But charges were slow coming, due to conflicts of interest and Georgia’s stand-your-ground law and citizen’s arrest law.
The case is on its fourth prosecutor; the first put in charge of the case, Brunswick District Attorney Jackie Johnson, recused herself because she’d previously employed Gregory McMichael. The district attorney of Waycross, Georgia, George Barnhill, was then assigned to it, but he recused himself after Arbery’s mother pointed out his son works in Johnson’s office.
Barnhill officially recused himself in an April 7 letter — and in it, he wrote that his son and Gregory McMichael “both helped with the previous prosecution of Arbery” on behalf of Johnson’s office. Arbery was convicted of probation violation after facing a shoplifting charge in 2018, something Barnhill pointed out in an earlier letter in which he laid out the reasons he believed the McMichaels had done nothing wrong.
In that letter, dated April 3, Barnhill suggested Arbery had mental health issues, and highlighted not just the shoplifting issue, but also the incident that led to Arbery being placed on probation: having brought a gun to campus while he was in high school.
The letter also notes Georgia has an open-carry law, a separate state law allows a private citizen to attempt arrests if an “offense is committed in his presence or within his immediate knowledge,” and that it has a stand-your-ground law that allows someone who feels threatened “to use deadly force to protect himself,” without having to first try to retreat or call law enforcement.
Merritt has dismissed Barnhill’s interpretation of these laws, telling CNN he doesn’t believe the McMichaels were trying to make a citizen’s arrest, noting that the McMichaels’ statements frame the shooting as an act of self-defense.
And he said the citizen’s arrest law says “you actually have to be observing the crime or be in the immediate knowledge of the crime” but argues the McMichaels never claimed this was the case.
The Washington Post also reported that Gregory McMichael had his law enforcement certification suspended last year after repeatedly failing to complete required training. He also received a warning in 2014 for neglecting to finish mandatory firearms and use-of-force classes.
Merritt has also pushed back against other claims in Barnhill’s letter, including the references to Arbery’s mental health and previous interactions with the legal system.
“The reference to ... alleged conduct from high school or shoplifting is absurd and has nothing to do with his murder,” Merritt said.
The shoplifting case does connect Barnhill, Gregory McMichael, and Arbery, however. When Barnhill recused himself in an April 7 letter, he wrote that his son and Gregory McMichael “both helped with the previous prosecution of Arbery” on behalf of Johnson’s office.
The real impetus behind the killing, Merritt suggested, can be seen in the 911 calls, when the caller fails to give a clear reason for the call but does note, “There’s a black male running down the street.”
Gregory McMichael told the Daily Beast Arbery’s race was irrelevant and that he “never would have gone after someone for their color,” saying instead that Barnhill’s letter is the “closest version of the truth.”
Meanwhile, pressure has mounted for Barnhill and Johnson to be removed from office. Protesters gathered at the Glynn County Courthouse on May 16 to demand their resignations.
“Racism is real in America and racism is real in Brunswick, Georgia and we come today to send a message to the racists and the supremacist that we will fight you with everything that we have,” Rev. Timothy McDonald said at the protests, Reuters reported.
Investigations have ramped up since the video went viral
Two days after the state took over the case, the McMichaels were arrested and booked in a Glynn County jail. A day later, Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Vic Reynolds announced that Bryan was also under investigation. He was charged with felony murder and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment two weeks later.
On May 10, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr announced he had asked the Department of Justice to investigate the handling of the case. “We are committed to a complete and transparent review of how the Ahmaud Arbery case was handled from the outset,” Carr said in a statement. “The family, the community and the state of Georgia deserve answers, and we will work with others in law enforcement at the state and federal level to find those answers.”
Meanwhile, Carr reassigned the case to a new district attorney, Joyette Holmes of Cobb County, which is northwest of Atlanta. In a statement, Carr said that while Durden had been executing his duties well, he believed someone with more resources was needed.
On June 24, Holmes announced an indictment with nine counts against each of the three defendants: malice murder, four counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, false imprisonment, and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment.
Correction: An earlier version of this story miscategorized the incidents described by Larry English and Travis McMichael. They were described as thefts or burglaries.


vox--2020-05-06--Andrew Cuomo is leaning on tech billionaires to help New York rebuild

Gov .
Andrew Cuomo is leaning on tech billionaires to rebuild New York after the coronavirus — a reminder of how the mega-rich are consolidating their power and expanding their influence even as they offer to help respond to the pandemic .
Cuomo has tapped Bill Gates ’ s foundation and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt to “ reimagine ” New York ’ s economy , health care system , and school system , the governor said in back-to-back briefings on Tuesday and Wednesday .
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has been chosen to “ revolutionize ” online learning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Cuomo on Tuesday to develop a “ blueprint ” for how to do so .
And on Wednesday , Cuomo invited Schmidt to appear at his closely watched daily news conference , where Schmidt said he would focus on telehealth , remote learning , and broadband access as the chair of a new commission focused on organizing New York ’ s economy more around technology .
The appointments will undoubtedly give the two tech billionaires substantial influence in shaping what New York looks like a year from now .
And amid a refreshed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in society , tapping the former Microsoft and Google CEOs will only increase the concerns raised about this plutocratic power , especially from voices in Cuomo ’ s own Democratic Party .
Using the word “ visionary ” to describe Gates and Schmidt on separate occasions , Cuomo portrayed their involvement as acts of benevolence and repeatedly thanked them for their service .
And yet the two initiatives are offering a way for private citizens to reshape how 20 million people in New York will live — none of whom voted for Schmidt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ live in New York ) .
Details are scarce about exactly how much power these groups will have beyond issuing recommendations or whether their work will be public .
But Gates could suddenly have the ability to recommend what types of things are taught to the state ’ s students in a “ reimagined ” system .
Schmidt could encourage the state to significantly embrace remote health care services that could be controversial .
While both have been successful business leaders , the concern would mirror the broader criticism of billionaire philanthropy : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ few wealthy people some undemocratic influence over American public policy .
Gates has burnished his reputation during the coronavirus , emerging as a ubiquitous expert in the media and earning applause for his early ( and unheeded ) concerns about a possible pandemic .
But for all his success in public health , Gates ’ s record has been viewed as far more mixed when it comes to education work , which is a second pillar of the Gates Foundation ’ s policy agenda .
“ When it comes to US education , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seeing the kind of bottom-line impact we expected , ” Gates candidly admitted in his annual letter earlier this year .
“ The fact that progress has been harder to achieve than we hoped is no reason to give up , though .
Just the opposite.
” That made the decision to tap Gates more controversial .
A number of teachers unions , who have fought bitterly with Gates-funded forces , voiced outrage over the announcement .
The exact scope of Gates ’ s work with Cuomo is unclear , beyond that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to explore questions like how technology can be used for virtual learning in schools and colleges .
Cuomo has appeared drawn to tech leaders like Gates and Schmidt for their willingness to think beyond a narrow response to a defined issue .
Cuomo said he is seeking to use the current crisis as an opportunity to build a stronger school system .
“ His ideas and thoughts on technology and education he ’ s spoken about for many years , ” Cuomo said of Gates .
“ But we now have a moment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and advance those ideas.
” Cuomo spoke similarly gushingly of Schmidt , calling him “ the best mind in this country , if not on the globe ” to incorporate technology into the economy of the future .
“ Let ’ s look at what we just went through .
Let ’ s anticipate a future through that lens .
And tell us how we can incorporate these lessons , ” Cuomo said .
That ’ s when Schmidt appeared via videoconference , pitching the same crisis-as-an-opportunity messaging .
“ We can take @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those in ways that will make things much , much better , ” Schmidt said .
“ My own view is that these moments are a chance to revisit things that are not getting enough attention , and we have systems that need to be updated.
” Unsurprisingly , those on the left aren ’ t taking kindly to the rollout of Cuomo ’ s kitchen cabinet .
Here ’ s activist Zephyr Teachout , who ran against Cuomo for the Democratic nomination for governor in 2014 .
Then again , the criticism @ @ @ @ @ @ @ isn ’ t new .
Cuomo consulted Schmidt back in 2014 over how to deploy technology in schools , which some watchdogs saw as a potential conflict of interest for Google ’ s then-current CEO .
Schmidt is also a longtime Democratic powerbroker and major donor .
And yet the public embrace of tech billionaires like Gates and Schmidt is particularly striking as the Democratic Party grows significantly more uncomfortable with these displays of affection toward Silicon Valley and its leaders .
Cuomo has been increasingly speculated about as a future presidential candidate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 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 .

Gov. Andrew Cuomo is leaning on tech billionaires to rebuild New York after the coronavirus — a reminder of how the mega-rich are consolidating their power and expanding their influence even as they offer to help respond to the pandemic.
Cuomo has tapped Bill Gates’s foundation and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt to “reimagine” New York’s economy, health care system, and school system, the governor said in back-to-back briefings on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has been chosen to “revolutionize” online learning for the fall and was asked by Cuomo on Tuesday to develop a “blueprint” for how to do so.
And on Wednesday, Cuomo invited Schmidt to appear at his closely watched daily news conference, where Schmidt said he would focus on telehealth, remote learning, and broadband access as the chair of a new commission focused on organizing New York’s economy more around technology.
The appointments will undoubtedly give the two tech billionaires substantial influence in shaping what New York looks like a year from now. And amid a refreshed debate about the role of the ultra-wealthy in society, tapping the former Microsoft and Google CEOs will only increase the concerns raised about this plutocratic power, especially from voices in Cuomo’s own Democratic Party.
Using the word “visionary” to describe Gates and Schmidt on separate occasions, Cuomo portrayed their involvement as acts of benevolence and repeatedly thanked them for their service. And yet the two initiatives are offering a way for private citizens to reshape how 20 million people in New York will live — none of whom voted for Schmidt or Gates (neither of whom technically live in New York).
Details are scarce about exactly how much power these groups will have beyond issuing recommendations or whether their work will be public. But Gates could suddenly have the ability to recommend what types of things are taught to the state’s students in a “reimagined” system. Schmidt could encourage the state to significantly embrace remote health care services that could be controversial. While both have been successful business leaders, the concern would mirror the broader criticism of billionaire philanthropy: that this “help” offers a few wealthy people some undemocratic influence over American public policy.
Gates has burnished his reputation during the coronavirus, emerging as a ubiquitous expert in the media and earning applause for his early (and unheeded) concerns about a possible pandemic. But for all his success in public health, Gates’s record has been viewed as far more mixed when it comes to education work, which is a second pillar of the Gates Foundation’s policy agenda.
“When it comes to US education, though, we’re not yet seeing the kind of bottom-line impact we expected,” Gates candidly admitted in his annual letter earlier this year. “The fact that progress has been harder to achieve than we hoped is no reason to give up, though. Just the opposite.”
That made the decision to tap Gates more controversial. A number of teachers unions, who have fought bitterly with Gates-funded forces, voiced outrage over the announcement.
The exact scope of Gates’s work with Cuomo is unclear, beyond that the foundation would convene a group of experts to explore questions like how technology can be used for virtual learning in schools and colleges.
Cuomo has appeared drawn to tech leaders like Gates and Schmidt for their willingness to think beyond a narrow response to a defined issue. Cuomo said he is seeking to use the current crisis as an opportunity to build a stronger school system.
“His ideas and thoughts on technology and education he’s spoken about for many years,” Cuomo said of Gates. “But we now have a moment in history where we can actually incorporate and advance those ideas.”
Cuomo spoke similarly gushingly of Schmidt, calling him “the best mind in this country, if not on the globe” to incorporate technology into the economy of the future.
“Let’s look at what we just went through. Let’s anticipate a future through that lens. And tell us how we can incorporate these lessons,” Cuomo said.
That’s when Schmidt appeared via videoconference, pitching the same crisis-as-an-opportunity messaging.
“We can take this terrible disaster and accelerate all of those in ways that will make things much, much better,” Schmidt said. “My own view is that these moments are a chance to revisit things that are not getting enough attention, and we have systems that need to be updated.”
Unsurprisingly, those on the left aren’t taking kindly to the rollout of Cuomo’s kitchen cabinet. Here’s activist Zephyr Teachout, who ran against Cuomo for the Democratic nomination for governor in 2014.
Cuomo is trying to take out the troubling democracy play-acting and go straight to rule by billionaires.
Monday Gates.
Tuesday Schmidt.
Next up, Bezos to re-imagine the future of the economy, and Zuckerberg to re-imagine news.
Friday maybe Blackrock just runs everything. https://t.co/jPIkA2Bnpx — Zephyr Teachout (@ZephyrTeachout) May 6, 2020
Then again, the criticism of Cuomo for his ties to Schmidt isn’t new. Cuomo consulted Schmidt back in 2014 over how to deploy technology in schools, which some watchdogs saw as a potential conflict of interest for Google’s then-current CEO.
Schmidt is also a longtime Democratic powerbroker and major donor. And yet the public embrace of tech billionaires like Gates and Schmidt is particularly striking as the Democratic Party grows significantly more uncomfortable with these displays of affection toward Silicon Valley and its leaders. Cuomo has been increasingly speculated about as a future presidential candidate.


vox--2020-05-06--Senators urge Trump to use Defense Production Act to make more Covid-19 tests

Nine prominent senators — all in the Democratic caucus — have penned a letter to President Donald Trump urging him to use wartime authorities to increase the amount of protective personal equipment ( PPE ) and testing supplies needed to confront the coronavirus .
Led by Sen. Chris Van Hollen ( D-MD ) and joined by Sens .
Angus King ( I-ME ) , Gary Peters ( D-MI ) , Kamala Harris ( D-CA ) , Mazie Hirono ( D-HI ) , Patrick Leahy ( D-VT ) , Debbie Stabenow ( D-MI ) , Mark Warner ( D-VA ) , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the letter details how states have struggled to get what they need for their outbreak response .
Medical professionals lack the masks , gowns , and other items necessary to stay safe as they treat patients .
And labs don ’ t have the requisite materials like swabs or complete kits to test people for the virus .
The lawmakers ’ solution ?
Have Trump invoke Title III of the Defense Production Act ( DPA ) , a Korean War-era law that gives the president greater powers over industry , to have the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ incentives to firms so they can make what ’ s needed .
“ It is clear that these widespread shortages will not be fully resolved until the nation ’ s production capacity can be dramatically scaled up , and despite unprecedented global demand , private sector companies have been reticent to expand production capacity without support and direction from the federal government , ” a letter draft obtained by Vox reads .
Trump has used parts of the DPA before , most famously to boost the production of ventilators for hospitals .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has only used Title III twice : First on April 11 to increase the number of N95 masks , and then on April 29 to make more testing swabs .
In an interview after obtaining the letter , Van Hollen told me the focus on Title III as opposed to other parts of the DPA is because it “ has been totally underutilized , and it can be a very effective tool.
” That means millions of dollars in federal funding remain untapped to help businesses make products frontline medical workers and everyday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ passed in March allotted $ 1 billion for the federal government to provide financial help to companies aim to make PPE and testing materials .
The law also allows the government to provide loans or purchase technologies companies need to make the desired product .
It ’ s no surprise , then , that Trump ’ s opponents in Congress have noticed the lethargy with which the Trump administration has addressed the shortfall .
“ This crisis requires faster , more coordinated action to limit loss of life in the near term and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ senators wrote .
Warner , one of the letter ’ s signatories , is perplexed by the inaction .
“ I just can not understand why the president hasn ’ t invoked the DPA to scale up testing and manufacturing of PPE , ” he told me .
“ Considering how much this president likes centralized power , it ’ s a total head-scratcher.
” It ’ s unclear — and rather unlikely — that this letter will spur Trump to act .
What is clear , though , is that he and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ work to do to help the country defeat the disease .
“ We should be putting the pedal to the metal here , ” Van Hollen told me .
“ We really want to push this , because it ’ s a good fit for increasing supplies.
” As Vox ’ s German Lopez noted last week , the US is woefully beneath the testing levels required to understand who has the coronavirus — and the main reason is the lack of testing equipment .
All of the major plans [ to end @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s , rely on much more testing to track and contain the coronavirus outbreak .
On the low end , the plans call for 500,000 tests a day .
On the high end , they call for tens of millions of tests .
But despite recent improvements , the country still faces a major obstacle to scaling up testing : a supply shortage .
Every test requires an extensive supply line to work correctly — one that ensures a sample is collected from a patient , then shipped to a lab , then @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , finally , the result is reported back to the patient .
Each of these steps requires a whole host of people and materials to function .
And as much of the country considers opening back up , many businesses don ’ t have the proper equipment to protect their employees .
Last month , the Washington Post reported that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration ( OSHA ) received around 3,000 complaints about unsafe working conditions .
Protests have already started across the US in part because employees don ’ t have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ safely .
Trump has a responsibility to help the country get what it needs .
Whether or not he listens to the advice of non-Republican lawmakers is a different story .
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 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 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 .

Nine prominent senators — all in the Democratic caucus — have penned a letter to President Donald Trump urging him to use wartime authorities to increase the amount of protective personal equipment (PPE) and testing supplies needed to confront the coronavirus.
Led by Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and joined by Sens. Angus King (I-ME), Gary Peters (D-MI), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Mark Warner (D-VA), and Jack Reed (D-RI), the letter details how states have struggled to get what they need for their outbreak response.
Medical professionals lack the masks, gowns, and other items necessary to stay safe as they treat patients. And labs don’t have the requisite materials like swabs or complete kits to test people for the virus.
The lawmakers’ solution? Have Trump invoke Title III of the Defense Production Act (DPA), a Korean War-era law that gives the president greater powers over industry, to have the federal government provide loans and other financial incentives to firms so they can make what’s needed.
“It is clear that these widespread shortages will not be fully resolved until the nation’s production capacity can be dramatically scaled up, and despite unprecedented global demand, private sector companies have been reticent to expand production capacity without support and direction from the federal government,” a letter draft obtained by Vox reads.
Trump has used parts of the DPA before, most famously to boost the production of ventilators for hospitals. But, as the letter highlights, Trump has only used Title III twice: First on April 11 to increase the number of N95 masks, and then on April 29 to make more testing swabs.
In an interview after obtaining the letter, Van Hollen told me the focus on Title III as opposed to other parts of the DPA is because it “has been totally underutilized, and it can be a very effective tool.” That means millions of dollars in federal funding remain untapped to help businesses make products frontline medical workers and everyday citizens desperately need.
The CARES Act passed in March allotted $1 billion for the federal government to provide financial help to companies aim to make PPE and testing materials. The law also allows the government to provide loans or purchase technologies companies need to make the desired product.
It’s no surprise, then, that Trump’s opponents in Congress have noticed the lethargy with which the Trump administration has addressed the shortfall. “This crisis requires faster, more coordinated action to limit loss of life in the near term and over the next year,” the senators wrote.
Warner, one of the letter’s signatories, is perplexed by the inaction. “I just cannot understand why the president hasn’t invoked the DPA to scale up testing and manufacturing of PPE,” he told me. “Considering how much this president likes centralized power, it’s a total head-scratcher.”
It’s unclear — and rather unlikely — that this letter will spur Trump to act. What is clear, though, is that he and his administration still have a lot of work to do to help the country defeat the disease.
“We should be putting the pedal to the metal here,” Van Hollen told me. “We really want to push this, because it’s a good fit for increasing supplies.”
America desperately needs testing kits and PPE
As Vox’s German Lopez noted last week, the US is woefully beneath the testing levels required to understand who has the coronavirus — and the main reason is the lack of testing equipment.
All of the major plans [to end social distancing], including Trump’s, rely on much more testing to track and contain the coronavirus outbreak. On the low end, the plans call for 500,000 tests a day. On the high end, they call for tens of millions of tests. But despite recent improvements, the country still faces a major obstacle to scaling up testing: a supply shortage. Every test requires an extensive supply line to work correctly — one that ensures a sample is collected from a patient, then shipped to a lab, then tested at that lab, and then, finally, the result is reported back to the patient. Each of these steps requires a whole host of people and materials to function.
And as much of the country considers opening back up, many businesses don’t have the proper equipment to protect their employees.
Last month, the Washington Post reported that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) received around 3,000 complaints about unsafe working conditions. Protests have already started across the US in part because employees don’t have enough masks and gloves available to work safely.
Trump has a responsibility to help the country get what it needs. Whether or not he listens to the advice of non-Republican lawmakers is a different story.