huffpost--2020-04-10--Michael Arceneaux Doesn’t Want To Die Poor, Or At All, During This Pandemic

Michael Arceneaux ’ s new book , “ I Don ’ t Want to Die Poor , ” was always going to be relevant ― even before the coronavirus became a pandemic that would forever change the way we look at this nation ’ s failing health care system , disproportionate poverty and crippling burden of student loan debt .
But since the world completely turned on its head , forcing us into an indefinite lockdown and causing more than 16 million Americans so far to file for unemployment benefits , Arceneaux ’ s sharp introspection on that helluva drug @ @ @ @ @ @ @ go to attain ( or pretend to be part of ) the middle class , and the financial ruin that can leave behind feels eerily clairvoyant .
Yes , the book is a sobering account of what it means to be a Black queer man in America .
Yes , it ’ s a much-needed wake-up call to see the inequality that exists in this country ( thanks , racism ) .
But just like his first New York Times best-seller , “ I Can ’ t Date Jesus ” ( which will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , his new collection of essays is hilarious and filled with side-splitting chapters ( e.g.
, “ Quit Playing on My Phone ) that reassure us Arceneaux ’ s “ slick mouth ” isn ’ t going anywhere .
Wow , I literally forgot that it ’ s been a month .
If it wasn ’ t for promoting the book , I ’ m not sure I would even know what day it was today .
But I have been doing well ― I mean , as well as one can be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reality is I have to promote this book as it conflicts with the rest of the world burning .
I ’ m talking about buying my book , while people are being buried in parks .
It ’ s a lot .
I had been reading about coronavirus for a while and knew that this wasn ’ t going to end well .
Donald Trump is selfish and this country is dirty , so no , I ’ m not surprised .
I recently had the dumb luck of being in New Orleans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ three cities with some of the highest rates of [ COVID-19 ] in the U.S. — and it didn ’ t seem like people were taking it seriously initially .
A girlfriend of mine was talking about going on a date and I was like , “ Are you out of your damn mind ?
It ’ s called social distancing !
” Now , three weeks later , she ’ s terrified .
Meanwhile , I have a mask on to take out the trash .
I miss touch , too , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ throw themselves at me right now , but you not gon na get me !
Masturbation will get you through a lot of things .
Like in the underappreciated 1996 T-Boz released single “ Touch Myself , ” “ Ain ’ t nothing wrong with making it feel good , baby.
” I will hug a dude after all of this is over , but I don ’ t want to die poor right now and I ain ’ t gon na die poor .
[ Laughs ] Look , you can ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Like my mother [ who is in her late 60s ] knows exactly what to do , but what ’ s making me freak out is all of the people coming in and out of her house .
I love my nieces and my brother , but I told my mother , they can ’ t be around you if they keep going out .
I was the parent instead of her being the one to mother me .
Those roles were reversed , but she gets it and she ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ these other old Black people who love talking about the rapture and love pandemics and want to be outside to see it .
Please go wait for it in the house like the rest of us .
Stay home .
You can still go to heaven if you ’ re inside .
You know , the book was timely before and it ’ s definitely timely now .
This crisis is so much harder on Americans and the one thing I hope people take away from the book and this situation is that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ want them to recognize our selfishness , the obsession with money and material things , and how we buy into this [ false ] notion of the American dream .
Also , the idea of how you obtain social mobility .
You can make all types of money right now and have still shitty insurance and die .
I saw it before this crisis and I am seeing it now while we ’ re in .
Can ’ t we do better ?
Yes , we can .
I hope people look around @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this is for everyone , how it ’ s hitting us and why .
We don ’ t have a safety net and people are dying lonely deaths because of the policies and systems we have in place .
We have to do better than this .
But it ’ s also time for people who voted for Trump to look around .
That man was an ego booster for them because his rhetoric essentially told them there is nothing better than being white .
Now , he ’ s letting them die @ @ @ @ @ @ @ A lot of Black people , well everyone , are probably going to be harassed because they don ’ t care .
A lot of these lenders are not that kind .
So if you ain ’ t got it , don ’ t break your neck trying to get it .
Obviously , if your loans [ are going into default ] , you want to work something out with them , but don ’ t kill yourself .
I was always so obsessed with and obtained pristine credit to the point @ @ @ @ @ @ @ emotional health .
So sometimes you just got ta take a hit and deal with it later .
Now isn ’ t the time to be obsessed with that stuff .
The layoffs ― this economy is screwed .
If you don ’ t have it , you don ’ t have it .
If they keep calling , that ’ s why you have the block feature on your phone .
For me , if you did grow up poor or working class and even middle class , you probably graduated with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and there are still white people without degrees that will make more money than you .
So no matter how far you go , the rug can be pulled out from under you in a second .
That ’ s what we ’ re seeing right now .

Michael Arceneaux, author of "I Don't Want to Die Poor." Steven Duarte
Michael Arceneaux’s new book, “I Don’t Want to Die Poor,” was always going to be relevant ― even before the coronavirus became a pandemic that would forever change the way we look at this nation’s failing health care system, disproportionate poverty and crippling burden of student loan debt. But since the world completely turned on its head, forcing us into an indefinite lockdown and causing more than 16 million Americans so far to file for unemployment benefits, Arceneaux’s sharp introspection on that helluva drug called capitalism, the lengths we will go to attain (or pretend to be part of) the middle class, and the financial ruin that can leave behind feels eerily clairvoyant.
Yes, the book is a sobering account of what it means to be a Black queer man in America. Yes, it’s a much-needed wake-up call to see the inequality that exists in this country (thanks, racism). But just like his first New York Times best-seller, “I Can’t Date Jesus” (which will be adapted into a TV series), his new collection of essays is hilarious and filled with side-splitting chapters (e.g., “Quit Playing on My Phone) that reassure us Arceneaux’s “slick mouth” isn’t going anywhere.
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HuffPost recently chatted with the author and journalist about “I Don’t Want to Die Poor,” surviving this crisis so his mom doesn’t get stuck with student loans and the importance of having compassion in the era of Trump.
So it just hit me that it’s been a month — to the day — since we last spoke on the phone. Man, it’s a completely different world. How are you doing?
Wow, I literally forgot that it’s been a month. If it wasn’t for promoting the book, I’m not sure I would even know what day it was today. But I have been doing well ― I mean, as well as one can be. It’s hard because the reality is I have to promote this book as it conflicts with the rest of the world burning. I’m talking about buying my book, while people are being buried in parks. It’s a lot.
Did you ever think this is where we would end up 30 days later?
I had been reading about coronavirus for a while and knew that this wasn’t going to end well. Donald Trump is selfish and this country is dirty, so no, I’m not surprised. I recently had the dumb luck of being in New Orleans, Los Angeles and New York — three cities with some of the highest rates of [COVID-19] in the U.S. — and it didn’t seem like people were taking it seriously initially. A girlfriend of mine was talking about going on a date and I was like, “Are you out of your damn mind? It’s called social distancing!” Now, three weeks later, she’s terrified. Meanwhile, I have a mask on to take out the trash.
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A date? I wish. This isolation is so real right now, especially for single and childless folks like myself. What I wouldn’t do for a hug.
I miss touch, too, and there are people still trying to throw themselves at me right now, but you not gonna get me! Masturbation will get you through a lot of things. Like in the underappreciated 1996 T-Boz released single “Touch Myself,” “Ain’t nothing wrong with making it feel good, baby.” I will hug a dude after all of this is over, but I don’t want to die poor right now and I ain’t gonna die poor. [Laughs]
Are you having those “stay in the house” conversations with your parents right now? I don’t know why it’s so hard to talk to Black baby boomers about not going out so much, but every week my parents and I are having the same fight. [Laughs]
Look, you can’t tell Black people that age nothing. Like my mother [who is in her late 60s] knows exactly what to do, but what’s making me freak out is all of the people coming in and out of her house. I love my nieces and my brother, but I told my mother, they can’t be around you if they keep going out. I was the parent instead of her being the one to mother me. Those roles were reversed, but she gets it and she’s good. But I am thinking of these other old Black people who love talking about the rapture and love pandemics and want to be outside to see it. Please go wait for it in the house like the rest of us. Stay home. You can still go to heaven if you’re inside.
Michael Arceneaux's second book of essays, "I Don't Want to Die Poor." Simon & Schuster
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With this scary economy, high unemployment rates and the uncertainty of how these bills are getting paid, your book is especially timely. Do you think it will hit differently?
You know, the book was timely before and it’s definitely timely now. This crisis is so much harder on Americans and the one thing I hope people take away from the book and this situation is that we really do lack compassion. I want them to recognize our selfishness, the obsession with money and material things, and how we buy into this [false] notion of the American dream. Also, the idea of how you obtain social mobility. You can make all types of money right now and have still shitty insurance and die. I saw it before this crisis and I am seeing it now while we’re in. Can’t we do better?
But given our greed, narcissism — hoarding all that damn toilet paper and Lysol — and of course this president, can we do better? If so, how?
Yes, we can. I hope people look around right now and see how much different this is for everyone, how it’s hitting us and why. We don’t have a safety net and people are dying lonely deaths because of the policies and systems we have in place. We have to do better than this. But it’s also time for people who voted for Trump to look around. That man was an ego booster for them because his rhetoric essentially told them there is nothing better than being white. Now, he’s letting them die.
There’s not a moment when I go on Facebook and not see someone talking about someone they know dying of this virus. This is impacting so many lives ― we need to have an awakening. But people are also hardheaded, so we will just have to see.
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It’s no secret that the chapter “Quit Playing on My Phone” is one of my favorites. Many of us can relate to dodging calls from Sallie Mae [which spun off its student loan servicing business as Navient in 2014], and despite the current freeze on our loans, they’re gonna keep calling, especially the private loan folks. What’s your advice on dealing with them?
I’ll say this: A lot of Black people, well everyone, are probably going to be harassed because they don’t care. A lot of these lenders are not that kind. So if you ain’t got it, don’t break your neck trying to get it. Obviously, if your loans [are going into default], you want to work something out with them, but don’t kill yourself.
I was always so obsessed with and obtained pristine credit to the point where it would impact my physical and emotional health. So sometimes you just gotta take a hit and deal with it later. Now isn’t the time to be obsessed with that stuff. The layoffs ― this economy is screwed. If you don’t have it, you don’t have it. If they keep calling, that’s why you have the block feature on your phone.
You talk in the book about faking it till you make it and how people, like reality stars and influencers, give off this facade of wealth or middle class. In a way, coronavirus has stripped some of that away.
I still see some people flossing on Instagram, not wanting folks to know they are struggling, but if this crisis has shown us anything — again — is that there isn’t a middle class anymore. The reality is that most people don’t even have $400 in their bank account, so what is the middle class? I know people making $100K that are living check to check.
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For me, if you did grow up poor or working class and even middle class, you probably graduated with a college degree and have sizable debt and there are still white people without degrees that will make more money than you. So no matter how far you go, the rug can be pulled out from under you in a second. That’s what we’re seeing right now.
The book is so well-done and hilarious, and yet you once told me that you hated writing it. First, I can’t tell, but what was going on that made this process so hard for you?
Yeah, I hated writing this book. [Laughs] I think the book is funny and thoughtful and honest, but I was dealing with issues that I thought I had worked through and realized that I hadn’t. That and I lost a lot of people in my life during that time, so sitting down to write was very difficult. Seeing death makes you question your own mortality as a Black man in America.
But I made it through. It was cathartic. While I hate it when people say there’s beauty in the struggle because that’s a lie, I do think there is something about finding hope in the struggle. This book offers hope. For all we got, I wanted for it to be inspirational because I have my sense of self-worth and believe that hard work will someday pay off. Hopefully. [Laughs]
Has all this self-reflection with your work, the daily oppression you face and what’s going on right now pushed you toward therapy? I talked to fellow author and your friend Samantha Irby recently about therapy, which she’s like, “wow, no thank you” for right now. [Laughs]
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I’ve reached out to therapists, but not in recent years. I do think therapists are helpful and could help me work through certain things and I am open to finding one. But right now, when I think about what’s causing my anxiety, a therapist can’t fix everything. They can’t pay these bills or make money more accessible to me. So unless they’re paying me in cash, they can’t fix my problems. [Laughs]
I have private loans, so if I die tomorrow my mom has to pay them because she is the cosigner. They cannot be discharged in death or bankruptcy, so my main concern right now is I gotta live ― none of this “see you in the afterlife.”


huffpost--2020-04-28--Democrats Think Republicans Oppose Stay-At-Home Orders. Most Republicans Don't.

Americans ’ desire for a robust coronavirus response has , so far , managed to at least partially transcend political polarization .
Although there are significant partisan divides , a majority of both Democrats and Republicans continue to support state-level “ stay-at-home ” orders .
That ’ s remained true over the past few weeks , even as President Donald Trump ’ s messages to the public have ricocheted between support for such orders and calls to “ liberate ” states with Democratic governors who have imposed them .
In a new HuffPost/YouGov survey , 82 % of Democrats and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s the right decision for state governments to tell residents to stay at home unless they have an essential reason for going out .
Members of the public often take cues about policy preferences from their party leaders .
But in this case , the poll suggests , Republicans may have largely tuned out the president ’ s more inflammatory messaging .
While Democrats believe Trump and his party are itching to open the country , most Republicans say they see support for continued coronavirus restrictions as the mainstream view of the GOP @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be a lot of projection going on , ” said Shana Kushner Gadarian , a political scientist at Syracuse University who ’ s studied the intersection of partisanship and the response to the coronavirus .
“ Normally , I think that people take cues from the president but since his messaging has been relatively muddled ... people seem to be filling in their preferred position for his.
” A 69 % majority of Republicans , the survey finds , say they believe Trump thinks states with stay-at-home orders are making the right decision @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump favors such orders .
( The poll , conducted last Thursday through Saturday , came prior to the news conference this week in which Trump continued to express support for some measures underway to reopen the country . )
An overwhelming 85 % of Republicans say that Trump is taking the coronavirus outbreak at least as seriously ― if not more seriously ― than they personally are .
A more modest 55 % say his message has been consistent , with one-third saying it ’ s changed at times .
By contrast @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump has changed his messaging on coronavirus , and only 19 % say that the president is taking the outbreak as least as seriously as they are .
This mismatch in perception goes beyond the White House .
Most Democrats believe that state stay-at-home orders have little GOP support .
But a 64 % majority of Republicans polled believe that most or almost all other Republicans support such orders .
Surveys like this one carry something of an innate chicken-or-the-egg factor .
The results can ’ t tell us , for instance , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stay-at-home orders because they believe that position puts them in line with the rest of their party , or whether their own support for such measures instead makes them more apt to believe ( or to tell pollsters they believe ) that their political compatriots feel similarly .
Either way , most Democrats and Republicans continue to think ― correctly ― that support for some restrictions remains the consensus view of their party .
Use the widget below to further explore the results of the HuffPost/YouGov survey , using the menu at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ buttons at the bottom to filter the data by subgroups : The HuffPost/YouGov poll consisted of 1,000 completed interviews conducted April 23-25 among U.S. adults , using a sample selected from YouGov ’ s opt-in online panel to match the demographics and other characteristics of the adult U.S. population .
Most surveys report a margin of error that represents some but not all potential survey errors .
YouGov ’ s reports include a model-based margin of error , which rests on a specific set of statistical assumptions about the selected sample rather than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
If these assumptions are wrong , the model-based margin of error may also be inaccurate .

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Americans’ desire for a robust coronavirus response has, so far, managed to at least partially transcend political polarization. Although there are significant partisan divides, a majority of both Democrats and Republicans continue to support state-level “stay-at-home” orders.
That’s remained true over the past few weeks, even as President Donald Trump’s messages to the public have ricocheted between support for such orders and calls to “liberate” states with Democratic governors who have imposed them. In a new HuffPost/YouGov survey, 82% of Democrats and 69% of Republicans say it’s the right decision for state governments to tell residents to stay at home unless they have an essential reason for going out.
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Members of the public often take cues about policy preferences from their party leaders. But in this case, the poll suggests, Republicans may have largely tuned out the president’s more inflammatory messaging. While Democrats believe Trump and his party are itching to open the country, most Republicans say they see support for continued coronavirus restrictions as the mainstream view of the GOP.
“Overall, there seems to be a lot of projection going on,” said Shana Kushner Gadarian, a political scientist at Syracuse University who’s studied the intersection of partisanship and the response to the coronavirus. “Normally, I think that people take cues from the president but since his messaging has been relatively muddled ... people seem to be filling in their preferred position for his.”
A 69% majority of Republicans, the survey finds, say they believe Trump thinks states with stay-at-home orders are making the right decision. Only about one-quarter of Democrats believe Trump favors such orders. (The poll, conducted last Thursday through Saturday, came prior to the news conference this week in which Trump continued to express support for some measures underway to reopen the country.)
Results of a HuffPost/YouGov poll on partisanship and coronavirus, taken April 23-25, 2020. Ariel Edwards-Levy/HuffPost
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An overwhelming 85% of Republicans say that Trump is taking the coronavirus outbreak at least as seriously ― if not more seriously ― than they personally are. A more modest 55% say his message has been consistent, with one-third saying it’s changed at times. By contrast, 80% of Democrats say that Trump has changed his messaging on coronavirus, and only 19% say that the president is taking the outbreak as least as seriously as they are.
This mismatch in perception goes beyond the White House. Most Democrats believe that state stay-at-home orders have little GOP support. But a 64% majority of Republicans polled believe that most or almost all other Republicans support such orders.
Results of a HuffPost/YouGov poll on partisanship and coronavirus, taken April 23-25, 2020. Ariel Edwards-Levy/HuffPost
Surveys like this one carry something of an innate chicken-or-the-egg factor. The results can’t tell us, for instance, whether Americans are more likely to support stay-at-home orders because they believe that position puts them in line with the rest of their party, or whether their own support for such measures instead makes them more apt to believe (or to tell pollsters they believe) that their political compatriots feel similarly. Either way, most Democrats and Republicans continue to think ― correctly ― that support for some restrictions remains the consensus view of their party.
Use the widget below to further explore the results of the HuffPost/YouGov survey, using the menu at the top to select survey questions and the buttons at the bottom to filter the data by subgroups:
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The HuffPost/YouGov poll consisted of 1,000 completed interviews conducted April 23-25 among U.S. adults, using a sample selected from YouGov’s opt-in online panel to match the demographics and other characteristics of the adult U.S. population.
HuffPost has teamed up with YouGov to conduct daily opinion polls. You can learn more about this project and take part in YouGov’s nationally representative opinion polling. More details on the polls’ methodology are available here.
Most surveys report a margin of error that represents some but not all potential survey errors. YouGov’s reports include a model-based margin of error, which rests on a specific set of statistical assumptions about the selected sample rather than the standard methodology for random probability sampling. If these assumptions are wrong, the model-based margin of error may also be inaccurate.
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huffpost--2020-04-28--Kentucky Governor Sorry He Held Up Tupac Shakur's Unemployment Check

FRANKFORT , Ky. ( AP ) — It ’ s no joke — Tupac Shakur lives in Kentucky and needs unemployment benefits to pay his bills .
The Lexington man ’ s name was brought up by Gov .
Andy Beshear on Monday night as he spoke about how the state is trying to process all unemployment claims filed in March amid the coronavirus pandemic by the end of April .
According to Beshear , a few “ bad apples ” including a person who filed an unemployment claim under the name of rapper Tupac Shakur — who was killed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for slowing down the state ’ s unemployment processing .
He blamed people who “ think they ’ re funny ” for making “ thousands of other people wait ” for their unemployment payments .
But the Lexington Herald-Leade reports Tupac Malik Shakur , 46 , who goes by Malik , lives in Lexington and worked as a cook before restrictions to stop the spread of the coronavirus shut down restaurants .
He filed for unemployment March 13 and has been waiting to receive his first check .
“ I ’ ve been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to figure out how to pay the bills , ” Shakur said .
He told the newspaper he wondered why his benefits were being held up , but did not think the labor cabinet would declare his claim was a prank .
Beshear ’ s office originally said the state could not verify the identity on the application but after getting information from the newspaper , the state is working to resolve the claim .
Beshear called Shakur personally on Tuesday to apologize and Shakur said he appreciated the gesture and forgave Beshear @

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FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — It’s no joke — Tupac Shakur lives in Kentucky and needs unemployment benefits to pay his bills.
The Lexington man’s name was brought up by Gov. Andy Beshear on Monday night as he spoke about how the state is trying to process all unemployment claims filed in March amid the coronavirus pandemic by the end of April.
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According to Beshear, a few “bad apples” including a person who filed an unemployment claim under the name of rapper Tupac Shakur — who was killed in a 1996 shooting — are responsible for slowing down the state’s unemployment processing. He blamed people who “think they’re funny” for making “thousands of other people wait” for their unemployment payments.
But the Lexington Herald-Leade reports Tupac Malik Shakur, 46, who goes by Malik, lives in Lexington and worked as a cook before restrictions to stop the spread of the coronavirus shut down restaurants.
He filed for unemployment March 13 and has been waiting to receive his first check.
“I’ve been struggling for like the last month trying to figure out how to pay the bills,” Shakur said.
He told the newspaper he wondered why his benefits were being held up, but did not think the labor cabinet would declare his claim was a prank.
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“I’m hurt, I’m really embarrassed and I’m shocked,” Shakur said.
Beshear’s office originally said the state could not verify the identity on the application but after getting information from the newspaper, the state is working to resolve the claim.
Beshear called Shakur personally on Tuesday to apologize and Shakur said he appreciated the gesture and forgave Beshear.
“I understand, he’s dealing with a lot,” Shakur said. “Mistakes happen.”
___


huffpost--2020-04-28--Saff Saffery Of 'Tiger King' Hopes Being Misgendered As 'She' Aids Pronoun Debate

Saffery appears in the series as the victim of a tiger attack at Joe Exotic ’ s zoo in Oklahoma who opts for amputation rather than two years of reconstructive surgery after the accident , and is back at work days after leaving hospital .
Saffery , 34 , said he didn ’ t mind being called “ she ” in the series but the anger this misuse of pronouns had provoked online towards had been an eye-opener for him .
“ I don ’ t think they intended to be cruel in any way , but dismissive or not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ very loud statement about the way they feel about the ( LGBT+ ) community , ” Saffery told the Thomson Reuters Foundation .
“ Personally it doesn ’ t bother me ... ( but ) these titles and these pronouns , they matter just as much as calling someone by the wrong name .
It ’ s something that you shouldn ’ t dismiss.
” Netflix recently collaborated with LGBT+ advocacy group GLAAD on the # FirstTimeISawMe campaign to raise transgender visibility in the media .
GLAAD found 38 transgender characters on television @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a year earlier .
Saffery said , however , he did not identify as transgender as he had not had any gender reassignment surgery or taken cross-sex hormones , but he lived as a man and used the pronoun he .
“ My children call me dad , they do not call me mom , ” said Saffery , who has three children , aged from nearly one to 11 , with his longterm female partner .
“ I can ’ t remember a time when I knew ( anything ) different ... @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what I wanted , the way I wanted to live and my family immediately supported that , ” he added in a phone interview from his new California home .
About 64 million households watched “ Tiger King ” in the four weeks after its March 20 premiere , according to a projection in an April 21 Netflix letter to shareholders , making it the smash viewing hit of the global coronavirus lockdown .
The seven-part series - which was even raised at a press conference with U.S. President Donald Trump - also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other big cat zoo owners in the UnitedStates , including his arch rival Carole Baskin .
But it was the keeper at the Greater Wynnewood Exotic AnimalPark who won many viewers ’ sympathy , when his arm was mauled after he put it into a tiger ’ s cage and for his good nature .
Saffery blamed himself for the accident in 2013 and was back at work a week later with his arm amputated below the elbow , a decision he insists was his and not due to pressure from Exotic .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ with that same tiger 100 times before and I broke protocol .
I broke routine , I got complacent , and my mistake led to that tiger being a tiger , ” he said .
Saffery said he had wanted to work with tigers since he wasa child but still had no “ clear answer ” on whether tigers andother big cats should be kept in captivity .
He joined Exotic ’ s zoo in 2010 after finding it via a Google search when he left the U.S. army , having served for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ missile defense system and bomb disposal units , including twice overseas in Iraq and then Afghanistan .
However Saffery left the zoo industry in 2018 after becoming disillusioned with those in charge , and was working in a warehouse before the series aired and the coronavirus pandemic .

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LONDON, April 28 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - After finding fame as the mauled zoo keeper in the hit Netflix documentary “Tiger King,” Kelci “Saff” Saffery has also found himself in another spotlight - a row over gender pronouns.
Saffery appears in the series as the victim of a tiger attack at Joe Exotic’s zoo in Oklahoma who opts for amputation rather than two years of reconstructive surgery after the accident, and is back at work days after leaving hospital.
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Throughout the series the good-natured keeper is referred to as “she” despite identifying as male since childhood.
Saffery, 34, said he didn’t mind being called “she” in the series but the anger this misuse of pronouns had provoked online towards had been an eye-opener for him.
“I don’t think they intended to be cruel in any way, but dismissive or not, it still made a very, very loud statement about the way they feel about the (LGBT+) community,” Saffery told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
“Personally it doesn’t bother me ... (but) these titles and these pronouns, they matter just as much as calling someone by the wrong name. It’s something that you shouldn’t dismiss.”
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Netflix did not respond to a request for comment.
Netflix recently collaborated with LGBT+ advocacy group GLAAD on the #FirstTimeISawMe campaign to raise transgender visibility in the media. GLAAD found 38 transgender characters on television in 2019 which was up from 26 a year earlier.
But the misgendering of Saffery was a sore point for many.
“They practically erased Saff as a trans man,” said a blog by LGBT+ business network MyGWork, while news site LGBTQ Nation said Saffery was shown “as a lesbian without any context.”
Saffery said, however, he did not identify as transgender as he had not had any gender reassignment surgery or taken cross-sex hormones, but he lived as a man and used the pronoun he.
“My children call me dad, they do not call me mom,” said Saffery, who has three children, aged from nearly one to 11, with his longterm female partner.
“I can’t remember a time when I knew (anything) different... I just think it was obvious, what I wanted, the way I wanted to live and my family immediately supported that,” he added in a phone interview from his new California home.
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MURDER, MYSTERY AND MAYHEM
About 64 million households watched “Tiger King” in the four weeks after its March 20 premiere, according to a projection in an April 21 Netflix letter to shareholders, making it the smash viewing hit of the global coronavirus lockdown.
The documentary sparked a list of controversies as it followed the life of the now-imprisoned Joseph Maldonado-Passage, aka Joe Exotic, a gay, polygamous exotic animal owner, along with past and present employees.
The seven-part series - which was even raised at a press conference with U.S. President Donald Trump - also focused onJoe Exotic’s feuds with other big cat zoo owners in the UnitedStates, including his arch rival Carole Baskin.
But it was the keeper at the Greater Wynnewood Exotic AnimalPark who won many viewers’ sympathy, when his arm was mauled after he put it into a tiger’s cage and for his good nature.
Saffery blamed himself for the accident in 2013 and was back at work a week later with his arm amputated below the elbow, a decision he insists was his and not due to pressure from Exotic.
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“I had done that same routine with that same tiger 100 times before and I broke protocol. I broke routine, I got complacent, and my mistake led to that tiger being a tiger,” he said.
Saffery said he had wanted to work with tigers since he wasa child but still had no “clear answer” on whether tigers andother big cats should be kept in captivity.
He joined Exotic’s zoo in 2010 after finding it via a Google search when he left the U.S. army, having served for six years as a female soldier in missile defense system and bomb disposal units, including twice overseas in Iraq and then Afghanistan.
However Saffery left the zoo industry in 2018 after becoming disillusioned with those in charge, and was working in a warehouse before the series aired and the coronavirus pandemic.
“Guys that I looked up to in this industry ... you see them destroying each other,” he said.
While in lockdown, Saffery has been relishing spending more time with his children and making money from his new-found fame by sending video messages to 250 plus paying fans online.
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“I’m thoroughly enjoying every second of it,” Saffery said. “It’s a nice second chance and I won’t take it for granted.”


huffpost--2020-06-18--Honduras President Hospitalized With COVID-19 And Pneumonia

Health Minister Alba Consuelo Flores confirmed that hospitals in those cities are nearly full , but said the government had to begin loosening restrictions .
Many businesses closed since March have been allowed to reopen , though with reduced capacity .
Those companies provide passes to their workers allowing them to avoid a national curfew that has been extended to June 28 and only allows people to leave home for essentials on certain days based on their national ID number .
She said if the people continue to be disciplined they will be able to manage the epidemic .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are reopening with just 20 % of their personnel .
But Suyapa Figueroa , president the Honduras Medical College , said hospitals are already being overwhelmed .
The School Hospital , the capital ’ s largest public hospital , has already outfitted additional rooms for COVID-19 patients , but they haven ’ t kept up with the demand , she said .
Several dozen people were awaiting space to be hospitalized , she said .
The organization has established a dual triage system that allows it to isolate those arriving with COVID-19 symptoms @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hospitals where there is bed space , said Karim Khallaayoun , mission chief for the Red Cross in Honduras .
The group has also supplied personal protective equipment for hospital staff , training on how to use it and counseling as the physical and psychological strain of the work takes its toll .
“ Over the past week , we are seeing an exponential increase in Tegucigalpa , ” Khallaayoun said .
“ Tegucigalpa has now become the epicenter of the contagion in the country.
” Noting that the disease has been unpredictable @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s quite possible that the hospital system is going to be overwhelmed in the next two , three weeks before we see a descent in the figures.
” Honduras has had nearly 10,000 confirmed cases of the disease and 330 deaths .
But testing is limited and the real figures are surely much higher .
The Health Ministry began sending teams into neighborhoods Tuesday to perform rapid tests for the coronavirus in an effort to detect infections before hospitalization is required .
Last week , the humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders said it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ oxygen in a 20-bed ward set up at the National Autonomous University of Honduras .
The goal was to relieve pressure on the public health system .
On Wednesday , Francis Contreras , spokesman for the National System of Risk Management , said at a news conference that after reviewing Hernández ’ s lab work and X-rays , doctors determined the president had pneumonia and recommended he be hospitalized .
He said Hernández was in good condition , but he was receiving medicine intraveneously that had to be administered in the Military Hospital @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the risk that comes with the job .
With his responsibilities , he said , he could not stay at home constantly .

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TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — The hospitalization of Honduras’ president with COVID-19 and pneumonia Wednesday has drawn attention to another country struggling under the pandemic’s strain as cases rise sharply in the capital.
President Juan Orlando Hernández announced late Tuesday that he and his wife had tested positive for the virus. Just hours later he was hospitalized after doctors determined he had pneumonia.
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Honduras' President Juan Orlando Hernández has been hospitalized with COVID-19 and pneumonia. ASSOCIATED PRESS
From March to June 7, Honduras confirmed 6,327 coronavirus infections. In the 10 days since, it added 3,329 more, a surge that has come after the government began a gradual reactivation of the economy.
The northern business hub of San Pedro Sula still accounts for the majority of the cases, but the capital, Tegucigalpa, is the focus of new infections.
Health Minister Alba Consuelo Flores confirmed that hospitals in those cities are nearly full, but said the government had to begin loosening restrictions. Many businesses closed since March have been allowed to reopen, though with reduced capacity. Those companies provide passes to their workers allowing them to avoid a national curfew that has been extended to June 28 and only allows people to leave home for essentials on certain days based on their national ID number.
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“If we don’t activate the economy we’re going to have another kind of pandemic that is hunger, malnutrition and probably social crises,” Flores said.
She said if the people continue to be disciplined they will be able to manage the epidemic. The country made wearing masks obligatory and businesses are reopening with just 20% of their personnel.
But Suyapa Figueroa, president the Honduras Medical College, said hospitals are already being overwhelmed. The School Hospital, the capital’s largest public hospital, has already outfitted additional rooms for COVID-19 patients, but they haven’t kept up with the demand, she said. Several dozen people were awaiting space to be hospitalized, she said.
Asked for comment, the hospital sent a WhatsApp message suggesting two of its officials to speak with late Wednesday but neither could be reached.
A local news station circulated video Tuesday of more than a dozen bodies wrapped in black bags scattered through hallways and rooms in the hospital’s overwhelmed morgue.
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Figueroa said that due to a shortage of pressure gauges, oxygen is shifted from patient to patient in turns.
The School Hospital is one health center where the International Committee of the Red Cross is supporting the country’s health system.
The organization has established a dual triage system that allows it to isolate those arriving with COVID-19 symptoms and try to refer them to other hospitals where there is bed space, said Karim Khallaayoun, mission chief for the Red Cross in Honduras. The group has also supplied personal protective equipment for hospital staff, training on how to use it and counseling as the physical and psychological strain of the work takes its toll.
“Over the past week, we are seeing an exponential increase in Tegucigalpa,” Khallaayoun said. “Tegucigalpa has now become the epicenter of the contagion in the country.”
He said most intensive care beds in the capital are full and the caseload is expected to continue growing in coming days.
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Noting that the disease has been unpredictable, Khallaayoun said, “it’s quite possible that the hospital system is going to be overwhelmed in the next two, three weeks before we see a descent in the figures.”
Honduras has had nearly 10,000 confirmed cases of the disease and 330 deaths. But testing is limited and the real figures are surely much higher. The Health Ministry began sending teams into neighborhoods Tuesday to perform rapid tests for the coronavirus in an effort to detect infections before hospitalization is required.
Last week, the humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders said it had started treating critical COVID-19 patients requiring oxygen in a 20-bed ward set up at the National Autonomous University of Honduras. The goal was to relieve pressure on the public health system.
Honduras’ president said Tuesday night that he had already started feeling better and planned to be re-evaluated Wednesday.
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On Wednesday, Francis Contreras, spokesman for the National System of Risk Management, said at a news conference that after reviewing Hernández’s lab work and X-rays, doctors determined the president had pneumonia and recommended he be hospitalized. He said Hernández was in good condition, but he was receiving medicine intraveneously that had to be administered in the Military Hospital.
Hernández had said that over the weekend he began feeling some discomfort and on Tuesday received the test results.
He said it was part of the risk that comes with the job. With his responsibilities, he said, he could not stay at home constantly.
Hernández said he had started what he called the “MAIZ treatment,” an experimental combination of microdacyn, azithromycin, ivermectin and zinc.
He said his wife was asymptomatic and two other people who work with them are also infected.
Hernández is a close ally of the Trump administration, primarily in efforts to slow illegal immigration. However, U.S. federal prosecutors in New York have prosecuted the president’s brother and made it increasingly clear that a case is building against Hernández himself.
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No charges have been filed against the president, but U.S. prosecutors have alleged he accepted money from drug traffickers to advance his political career in exchange for letting them move drugs through the country. Hernández denies those allegations.
He was re-elected in a disputed November 2017 election, despite the country’s constitutional ban on reelection.
___


huffpost--2020-05-18--Barr Says Biden Probe Unlikely, Claims Trump DOJ Won't Be Used For 'Partisan Political Ends'

MANDEL NGAN via Getty Images President Donald Trump speaks , flanked by Attorney General William Barr ( left ) , during the daily briefing on the novel coronavirus on April 1 .
Attorney General William Barr , who has intervened in criminal cases against allies of Donald Trump and helped shield the president from the consequences of the special counsel investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election , said Monday that “ the criminal justice system will not be used for partisan political ends ” as long as he is attorney general .
Barr , speaking at a virtual @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into a deadly terrorist attack in Pensacola , Florida , in December , said that increasing attempts to use the criminal justice system as a “ political weapon ” was “ not a good development ” for the country .
“ We live in a very divided country right now , and I think that it is critical that we have an election where the American people are allowed to make a decision , a choice , between President Trump and Vice President [ Joe ] Biden based on a robust debate of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ We can not allow this process to be hijacked by efforts to drum up criminal investigations of either candidate , ” Barr said .
“ I ’ m committed that this election will be conducted without this kind of interference .
Any effort to pursue an investigation of either candidate has to be approved by me.
” Barr went on to criticize the Justice Department ’ s actions during the 2016 campaign and in the first two years of his presidency as “ abhorrent , ” saying it was a “ grave @ @ @ @ @ @ @ American history.
” But he said that the investigation being conducted by John Durham , the U.S. attorney for Connecticut , into the origins of the Russia investigation was unlikely to result in a criminal investigation into former President Barack Obama or former Vice President Biden .
Trump and his allies have recently begun referring to “ Obamagate ” and suggesting that Obama and Biden should be criminally investigated for unspecified conduct during the 2016 election .
“ Whatever their level of involvement , based on the information I have today , I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s work will lead to a criminal investigation of either man , ” Barr said .
“ Our concern over potential criminality is focused on others.
” In recent months , Barr has helped move to dismiss charges against former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn ( who twice pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian ambassador to the United States ) and asked for a lower sentence for former Trump campaign ally Roger Stone .
In March , a federal judge appointed by President George W. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ create a “ one-sided narrative ” about the Mueller report to benefit Trump .

President Donald Trump speaks, flanked by Attorney General William Barr (left), during the daily briefing on the novel coronavirus on April 1. MANDEL NGAN via Getty Images
Attorney General William Barr, who has intervened in criminal cases against allies of Donald Trump and helped shield the president from the consequences of the special counsel investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, said Monday that “the criminal justice system will not be used for partisan political ends” as long as he is attorney general.
Barr, speaking at a virtual press conference that focused on the investigation into a deadly terrorist attack in Pensacola, Florida, in December, said that increasing attempts to use the criminal justice system as a “political weapon” was “not a good development” for the country.
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“We live in a very divided country right now, and I think that it is critical that we have an election where the American people are allowed to make a decision, a choice, between President Trump and Vice President [Joe] Biden based on a robust debate of policy issues,” Barr said.
“We cannot allow this process to be hijacked by efforts to drum up criminal investigations of either candidate,” Barr said. “I’m committed that this election will be conducted without this kind of interference. Any effort to pursue an investigation of either candidate has to be approved by me.”
Barr went on to criticize the Justice Department’s actions during the 2016 campaign and in the first two years of his presidency as “abhorrent,” saying it was a “grave injustice” that was “unprecedented in American history.”
But he said that the investigation being conducted by John Durham, the U.S. attorney for Connecticut, into the origins of the Russia investigation was unlikely to result in a criminal investigation into former President Barack Obama or former Vice President Biden. Trump and his allies have recently begun referring to “Obamagate” and suggesting that Obama and Biden should be criminally investigated for unspecified conduct during the 2016 election.
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“Whatever their level of involvement, based on the information I have today, I don’t expect Mr. Durham’s work will lead to a criminal investigation of either man,” Barr said. “Our concern over potential criminality is focused on others.”
In recent months, Barr has helped move to dismiss charges against former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn (who twice pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian ambassador to the United States) and asked for a lower sentence for former Trump campaign ally Roger Stone.
Before the public release of Robert Mueller’s special counsel investigation, Barr issued a letter that Mueller said mischaracterized his findings about Trump’s actions.


huffpost--2020-05-18--This Is Your Body And Brain On Coronavirus Quarantine

“ The early optimism and community support begins to erode as the mind and body struggle to manage the persistent stress and sense of being out of control , ” said Kimberly Johnson , an assistant professor of clinical mental health counseling at Touro College in Bay Shore , New York .
“ Couple this with feelings of grief , both tangible and intangible , and people have less resources with which to deal with life.
” Stress Can Make It Hard To Concentrate As a result of being quarantined , not only are we disconnected from the people we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also lost our jobs and are unable to do the things we ’ d normally do to blow off steam ― either because we can ’ t afford to or because our go-to stress-busters are no longer an option ( eating out at restaurants , going to the movies , hitting up a workout class ) .
Chronic Stress Leads To Tingling , Digestive Problems And More “ The onset of irritable bowel syndrome during something as life-altering as a pandemic or having to go into quarantine is purely from the mind-gut axis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gut , ” said Niket Sonpal , a gastroenterologist and professor at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine .
“ This change in cortisol and other neurotransmitters can lead to constipation , diarrhea or both.
” Personality Type May Affect How You Handle Quarantine How To Nurture Your Body And Mind During Quarantine On the flip side , if you ’ re running into social or Zoom fatigue , you might want to take a “ quality over quantity ” approach instead , Celan said .
Keep only your most important connections on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ yet steer clear of burnout .
Stay fueled by what ’ s always moved you most ― whether that ’ s reading , writing , painting or other similar solo activities .
It ’ s much easier for people to “ get their mind off the stress of the pandemic , given they ’ re already used to enjoying the many at-home activities that are available to them , ” Celan said .

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Now that it’s day who-even-knows-anymore in the coronavirus pandemic, and the initial shock of it all is starting to wear off, you might find yourself distracted by a barrage of mental and physical symptoms that weren’t as prominent back when panic-induced toilet-paper hoarding was hogging your attention.
This is because the prolonged levels of anxiety we’ve been enduring the last few months are straight-up wearing us down.
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“The early optimism and community support begins to erode as the mind and body struggle to manage the persistent stress and sense of being out of control,” said Kimberly Johnson, an assistant professor of clinical mental health counseling at Touro College in Bay Shore, New York. “Couple this with feelings of grief, both tangible and intangible, and people have less resources with which to deal with life.”
Much of what we’re feeling, both emotionally and physically, are normal responses to an abnormal event, Johnson added. But the prolonged effects can be damaging if we’re not aware of them and make an effort to mitigate them (translation: self-care).
To make changes, it can be helpful to understand how the body — particularly the brain — responds to stress and change. Here’s what you should know.
Uncertainty Activates The Fight-Or-Flight Response
The pandemic and subsequent stay-at-home orders are things none of us have experienced before, so the brain doesn’t have data from past experiences that it can draw from to make informed decisions.
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“Uncertainty is a major trigger of stress that can boil over into clinically significant levels of anxiety,” said David A. Merrill, a psychiatrist and director of the Pacific Brain Health Center at the Pacific Neuroscience Institute.
Uncertainty activates the autonomic nervous system’s fight-or-flight response, which prepares the body to fight a threat or flee from one. Once that threat is dealt with, the mind and body go back to their regularly scheduled programming.
But COVID-19 isn’t a temporary threat ― at least not right now. So the ongoing stress, anxiety and worry (“Am I washing my hands enough?” “Cleaning surfaces enough?” “Going out too much?”) have sent the fight-or-flight response into overdrive.
Stress Can Make It Hard To Concentrate
Chronic stress leaves the brain swimming in the hormone cortisol, which research suggests can disrupt the functions of the prefrontal cortex ― the area of the brain responsible for attention span, decision-making, problem-solving and emotion regulation. Cue brain fog, apathy, indecisiveness and mood swings.
Photographer, Basak Gurbuz Derman via Getty Images
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Isolation Triggers Restlessness, Loneliness And Depression
As a result of being quarantined, not only are we disconnected from the people we care about, many of us have also lost our jobs and are unable to do the things we’d normally do to blow off steam ― either because we can’t afford to or because our go-to stress-busters are no longer an option (eating out at restaurants, going to the movies, hitting up a workout class).
“The problem here is that our cortisol levels are too high, while our dopamine (reward) and oxytocin (bonding) levels are low,” said Patricia Celan, a psychiatry resident at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
This leaves us more at risk of developing feelings of restlessness, loneliness and depression during quarantine, especially if we place a high value on social interactions, Celan said.
Chronic Stress Leads To Tingling, Digestive Problems And More
When the fight-or-flight response kicks in, it triggers physical reactions.
“Symptom clusters for this include racing or pounding heart, shortness of breath and sense of numbness or tingling, among others,” Merrill said.
Over a prolonged period of time, these reactions can cause significant physical wear and tear on the body.
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“With the long haul of the quarantine, we’re seeing more lethargy, disrupted sleep and depression,” Merrill added. “These symptoms tend to negatively amplify each other.”
This is likely because there’s little separation between work (or the hunt for work) and home.
“Anecdotally, people are saying they’re working more and putting in longer hours,” Johnson said. “This is also true with essential workers ― their home is often not the sanctuary it once was.”
Now that our routines are upended, and there are no longer cues from our environment that it’s time to decompress, our body has no idea when to take a breather. It’s as if our central nervous system has a foot on both the gas and brake pedals simultaneously.
To top it off, chronic stress has a tendency to physically manifest in the form of digestive issues (think bloating, gas, cramps, nausea).
“The onset of irritable bowel syndrome during something as life-altering as a pandemic or having to go into quarantine is purely from the mind-gut axis and the effect of stress on the gut,” said Niket Sonpal, a gastroenterologist and professor at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine. “This change in cortisol and other neurotransmitters can lead to constipation, diarrhea or both.”
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Personality Type May Affect How You Handle Quarantine
For people who consider themselves extroverts, the quarantine is causing anxiety and restlessness at the loss of broader social interactions and being out in the world. But that doesn’t necessarily mean introverts — who typically isolate themselves whether there’s a pandemic or not — aren’t experiencing their own spirals of angst.
“Although we might think of these personalities as different, their key objective is exactly the same, which is to maintain some sense of control and mastery in their world,” said organizational and consulting psychologist Richard Citrin, co-author of ”The Resilience Advantage.”
Introverts do this by being more inwardly focused and isolating from people, “but that doesn’t mean they don’t need to be around people, just that their level of interaction can be less,” Citrin said.
They might be missing the freedom to be alone in the crowded streets of the city they live in or meeting a friend for coffee. You don’t need to be a social butterfly to miss being out in the world.
From a work perspective, introverts might find themselves invigorated by working independently rather than in a busy, social office building. But Zoom meetings might cause them a significant amount of distress, and they might get lost in the shuffle.
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Plus, being quarantined at home doesn’t mean being alone.
“For some introverts, their homes are always full, with no time or space to themselves,” Johnson said. “The constant stimuli might be overwhelming and increase their sense of anxiety and stress, with little opportunity to be inwardly contemplative or quiet.”
Justin Lambert via Getty Images
How To Nurture Your Body And Mind During Quarantine
There are ways to mitigate these issues. Try these suggestions from the experts.
Acknowledge The Uncertainty
Research suggests that confronting uncomfortable feelings and reassuring yourself can help you feel more in control of your life.
“Realizing you’ve made it this far through the crisis and you’re still ‘pushing back’ against the uncertainty can build up your tolerance for handling this situation,” Merrill said.
Get Into A Rhythm
“Following a schedule can help normalize your sleep and eating habits, which will lower your anxiety over time,” Merrill said.
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The hints of predictability can act as emotional pillars to lean on and help you find a sense of stability during the daily grind.
Carve Out Time For Solitude
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the 24/7 social demands of your household, set aside consistent pockets of “me time,” with boundaries around being approached during this time, Celan said.
(For introverts or highly sensitive people who need to recharge more often, consider setting up a permanent “cave” you can retreat to at a moment’s notice.)
This can act as a signal to your body that it’s time to transition from fight-or-flight to rest-and-digest.
Think Outside Yourself
Turning your attention to emotionally supporting others can act as a form of mindfulness that short-circuits your worries about uncertainty, while also offering up another layer of emotional connection to stave off feelings of loneliness. For example, text someone who may be alone or check in to see if your housebound neighbor needs groceries or your immunocompromised relative needs a prescription picked up.
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You can also try loving-kindness meditation, a practice that involves mentally sending good vibes toward others through repeating a series of mantras. Research suggests this form of meditation reduces people’s focus on themselves, lowering symptoms of anxiety and depression in the process.
Find A Balance That Works For You
The most important thing is to listen to your body and honor how you feel.
If you’ve reached your isolation quota, but nobody’s available to chat, you can seek out connection through, say, group workouts on YouTube, Facebook or Instagram Live or other similar sources of community.
On the flip side, if you’re running into social or Zoom fatigue, you might want to take a “quality over quantity” approach instead, Celan said. Keep only your most important connections on the books in order to keep relationships strong yet steer clear of burnout.
Stay fueled by what’s always moved you most ― whether that’s reading, writing, painting or other similar solo activities. It’s much easier for people to “get their mind off the stress of the pandemic, given they’re already used to enjoying the many at-home activities that are available to them,” Celan said.


huffpost--2020-05-18--Meet The Trikini, The Coronavirus-Era Swimsuit You Never Knew You Needed

It ’ s not the accessory we asked for , but it ’ s the accessory we got .
All over the world , people are getting creative with their face masks , which have become essential tools in helping to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus .
Now , as warmer weather hits and beaches begin to reopen , a new fashionable take on the mask is making a splash : The trikini .
Italian swimwear brand Elexia Beachwear first developed the product — a bikini that comes with a matching face mask — last month .
Designer Tiziana @ @ @ @ @ @ @ joke to her family , the New York Post reported .
Now , she ’ s being bombarded with order requests .
Shelter-in-place guidelines began to ease in Italy on Monday .
Restaurants , beaches and stores reopened , including Scaramuzzo ’ s store .
In a Facebook post , the brand shared its guidelines for entering the shop .
The bikinis range in price .
The ones we saw on Instagram go for around 50-60 euros ( or around $ 55- $ 65 ) , and the masks cost an additional 10 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ another way that creativity has been born out of necessity ― and hey , if we ’ re going to have weird tan lines anyway , we might as well look cute and be safe while we get them .
Head to Elexia Beachwear ’ s Instagram to see more photos of the trikini .

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It’s not the accessory we asked for, but it’s the accessory we got. All over the world, people are getting creative with their face masks, which have become essential tools in helping to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.
Now, as warmer weather hits and beaches begin to reopen, a new fashionable take on the mask is making a splash: The trikini.
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Italian swimwear brand Elexia Beachwear first developed the product — a bikini that comes with a matching face mask — last month.
Designer Tiziana Scaramuzzo originally posed the idea as a joke to her family, the New York Post reported. Now, she’s being bombarded with order requests.
Shelter-in-place guidelines began to ease in Italy on Monday. Restaurants, beaches and stores reopened, including Scaramuzzo’s store. In a Facebook post, the brand shared its guidelines for entering the shop.
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The bikinis range in price. The ones we saw on Instagram go for around 50-60 euros (or around $55-$65), and the masks cost an additional 10 euros each.
It’s yet another way that creativity has been born out of necessity ― and hey, if we’re going to have weird tan lines anyway, we might as well look cute and be safe while we get them.
Head to Elexia Beachwear’s Instagram to see more photos of the trikini.
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huffpost--2020-04-02--Adam Lambert On New Music, Dating And Keeping Busy While Social Distancing

Over the last 10 years , it ’ s easy to get caught up in the business side of things of music , and the commercial side of music and the competitive side of music .
That ’ s just the business .
It ’ s easy to get caught up in that mindset ― although it ’ s not necessarily a good idea to completely ignore it .
But for me with this project , I finally was able to compartmentalize the creative side and not let it get tainted by this business .
This is my fourth album @ @ @ @ @ @ @ while to figure out how to do that and dig my feet in and be like this is what I want to make and this is what I ’ m making .
Nile and I worked together before , so it was really exciting to do this again .
He played guitar on a song called “ Shady ” that I did on my second album .
And that ’ s where we met .
And then , over the years , I ’ ve sung with him and [ his band ] @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and I and Avicii actually wrote a song together for Avicii ’ s album called “ Lay Me Down.
” So we ’ ve worked together now a handful of times and he ’ s wonderful .
I mean , he ’ s got such great stories and he ’ s so positive and not only is he an incredible guitar player , I mean his style is his own .
His sensibility for songs and what to add to a song was key here .
And we had written “ Roses ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Then I said , “ It just needs a little more movement .
It needs to dance a little bit .
And [ producer ] Fred [ Ball ] was like , “ Why don ’ t we call Nile ?
” And I went , “ Oh , yeah , I know him , I got his number.
” I was thinking there ’ s so many times where you ’ re trying to date somebody and they ’ re just sort of going through the motions .
They ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ know what I mean ?
They ’ re doing the things that they think they ’ re supposed to do because society has told them to do these things .
“ Oh , now we ’ re in a relationship , so I will send you flowers.
” And it ’ s like , “ Well , OK , but that ’ s not enough if that ’ s all you ’ re doing.
” Yes , to meet someone new and in general in life ― both .
That ’ s the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ think overall it is an exploration of love .
There ’ s self-love , which is reflected in “ Superpower ” and in “ Stranger You Are ” and “ Ready to Run ” ― having self-worth to make changes and to get out of things if it ’ s not right .
And then some like “ Roses ” and “ Love Don ’ t , ” which are like , “ OK , this is not working .
This isn ’ t enough.
” But being able to be self-assured enough @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s songs that are fully fabulous and fun , and “ Velvet ” is one of them .
It ’ s a celebration .
But it ’ s all about love .
It all comes down to this kind of search and experience of love in different forms .
Yeah .
I hope so .
I mean that was the idea .
And also I think more than ever , I ’ m the most comfortable I ’ ve ever been with being queer in the music industry .
There were times @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I had to deal with ― not on my end , I ’ ve always been really comfortable about who I am ― but just the business around it has been tricky .
We ’ re in a time now where it ’ s so open now and it ’ s proven not to be a handicap , which is what a lot of , I think , executives felt like it was 10 years ago .
And so , it ’ s a real exciting time to be in music and to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ yourself without having to downplay anything or sidestep anything .
Now I can just lean all the way in .
And that ’ s exciting .
And I feel like you can hear that in the album as well .
I mean , it is queer .
It is flamboyant .
Well yeah , I didn ’ t quite realize it as it was going on , but now in hindsight and also now having met younger people that ...
I ’ ve met people that were in their adolescence or early teenage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Idol ” and right after when I was doing my first big splash of press and my first album and all that .
And it ’ s interesting to hear their perspective because I ’ ve actually met people that were like , “ You were the first person on TV that was talking about being gay in my experience.
” This is their words , and “ Somebody that was coming out after ‘ Idol ’ and being really bold about exactly who you were ― that was the first time I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if it ’ s all in the name of ...
It ’ s entertainment .
I mean it ’ s all part of it , it ’ s all putting on a show .
I mean that ’ s what we do .
I do find it funny sometimes because I see certain things where it ’ s a bit of a double standard because I ’ m a man or a gay man even and it ’ s like women are changing their hair constantly and no one ’ s writing articles @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mean ?
Or I wear makeup , and I love eye makeup , and I was doing an interview somewhere and they said , “ Oh , can we have you put makeup on the host ?
” And I was like , “ Why ?
What ?
I ’ m not here selling makeup.
” You know what I mean ?
If I had my own makeup line , yeah , that would make sense , but I ’ m here to talk about my album .
I would like to get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ think that would be really fun .
And also , I ’ m starting to become interested in planting seeds in the creative space where it ’ s not necessarily for my own music , but to create other projects behind the scenes , to be a producer or a writer or a consultant .
There ’ s definitely some stuff in the works .
So I ’ m getting geared up for that .

Adam Lambert's new album is called "Velvet." Joseph Sinclair
Like the rest of the country, Adam Lambert is stuck at home.
With social distancing measures in place, the singer has resorted to putting on wigs and posting photos of his new “look” on social media to fill the hours. In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, he also had an album scheduled to come out.
We spoke a week before “Velvet” was released on March 20, and like I always do, I began our interview thanking him for his time.
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“I have nothing but time here at home,” he said.
That’s certainly what many people are feeling right now. As for Lambert, his upcoming concerts have been canceled due to COVID-19, while the rest of his touring calendar remains up in the air. His main priority is that everyone stay safe and healthy, he said.
During this time of self-isolation, we caught up on the phone about his new album, dating and what’s next.
Do you feel like you’re at a point in your career where you’re more or less creative than you’ve been in the past?
Over the last 10 years, it’s easy to get caught up in the business side of things of music, and the commercial side of music and the competitive side of music. That’s just the business. It’s easy to get caught up in that mindset ― although it’s not necessarily a good idea to completely ignore it. But for me with this project, I finally was able to compartmentalize the creative side and not let it get tainted by this business. This is my fourth album, and it took me a little while to figure out how to do that and dig my feet in and be like this is what I want to make and this is what I’m making.
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Can you talk about the song “Roses” and teaming up with producer Nile Rodgers on that?
Nile and I worked together before, so it was really exciting to do this again. He played guitar on a song called “Shady” that I did on my second album. And that’s where we met. And then, over the years, I’ve sung with him and [his band] Chic a couple times, and him and I and Avicii actually wrote a song together for Avicii’s album called “Lay Me Down.” So we’ve worked together now a handful of times and he’s wonderful. I mean, he’s got such great stories and he’s so positive and not only is he an incredible guitar player, I mean his style is his own.
His sensibility for songs and what to add to a song was key here. And we had written “Roses” and come up with a basic idea. Then I said, “It just needs a little more movement. It needs to dance a little bit. And [producer] Fred [Ball] was like, “Why don’t we call Nile?” And I went, “Oh, yeah, I know him, I got his number.”
That’s a handy thing to have in your phone. Was there anything, in particular, you were thinking about while writing “Roses”?
I was thinking there’s so many times where you’re trying to date somebody and they’re just sort of going through the motions. They’re not really even emotionally invested. You know what I mean? They’re doing the things that they think they’re supposed to do because society has told them to do these things. “Oh, now we’re in a relationship, so I will send you flowers.” And it’s like, “Well, OK, but that’s not enough if that’s all you’re doing.”
Lambert finished as runner-up in the eighth season of "American Idol." John Lamparski via Getty Images
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Is there a track on this new album that speaks to where you’re at now and why?
“Superpower” is still very much sort of an anthem for me. The idea of taking control and taking back your power. I think on a personal level I’ve been heading that way and professionally, too. It really embodies this whole thing that I’m talking about in taking the reins.
But also “Velvet” is a really playful song. I feel like that’s my romantic side coming out. That’s me saying and wanting something that’s lovely and full of joy and being able to find it and putting that out there into the world. I mean I’m currently single right now, but I’m definitely in the right headspace, so that’s exciting.
Headspace to meet someone new or just in general in life?
Yes, to meet someone new and in general in life ― both. That’s the thing about the album is that I think overall it is an exploration of love. There’s self-love, which is reflected in “Superpower” and in “Stranger You Are” and “Ready to Run” ― having self-worth to make changes and to get out of things if it’s not right. And then some like “Roses” and “Love Don’t,” which are like, “OK, this is not working. This isn’t enough.” But being able to be self-assured enough to realize that. And then there’s songs that are fully fabulous and fun, and “Velvet” is one of them. It’s a celebration. But it’s all about love. It all comes down to this kind of search and experience of love in different forms.
I think that’s why this album resonates.
Yeah. I hope so. I mean that was the idea. And also I think more than ever, I’m the most comfortable I’ve ever been with being queer in the music industry. There were times where it was like an obstacle that I had to deal with ― not on my end, I’ve always been really comfortable about who I am ― but just the business around it has been tricky. We’re in a time now where it’s so open now and it’s proven not to be a handicap, which is what a lot of, I think, executives felt like it was 10 years ago.
And so, it’s a real exciting time to be in music and to be able to fully express everything about yourself without having to downplay anything or sidestep anything. Now I can just lean all the way in. And that’s exciting. And I feel like you can hear that in the album as well. I mean, it is queer. It is flamboyant.
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Can you elaborate on your place as a queer man in the music industry?
Well yeah, I didn’t quite realize it as it was going on, but now in hindsight and also now having met younger people that ... I’ve met people that were in their adolescence or early teenage years when I was on “American Idol” and right after when I was doing my first big splash of press and my first album and all that. And it’s interesting to hear their perspective because I’ve actually met people that were like, “You were the first person on TV that was talking about being gay in my experience.” This is their words, and “Somebody that was coming out after ‘Idol’ and being really bold about exactly who you were ― that was the first time I’d seen that.”
So to know that it had that sort of impact on people’s lives, that’s really cool. And again, I didn’t realize it at the time. But now, 10 years later, it’s amazing to look back and see how far we’ve come.
And I think that there’s more to be done too. I mean, not just the music industry, just in general.
Exactly. We’re not done. That’s totally true. It’s not over, but the progress is really major.
Before I got on the phone with you, I Googled “Adam Lambert” and there were a lot of articles about your hair and whatever you did to it recently. Is it strange that fans watch your every move?
What did I do to my hair recently? I mean I did post a picture on Instagram yesterday in a wig because I was really bored at home and I just started playing dress-up in my closet, which is one of my favorite things to do since I was a kid and I took a picture of it. It’s very COVID-19, the look.
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Is that weird?
I mean if it’s all in the name of ... It’s entertainment. I mean it’s all part of it, it’s all putting on a show. I mean that’s what we do. I do find it funny sometimes because I see certain things where it’s a bit of a double standard because I’m a man or a gay man even and it’s like women are changing their hair constantly and no one’s writing articles about it. You know what I mean?
Or I wear makeup, and I love eye makeup, and I was doing an interview somewhere and they said, “Oh, can we have you put makeup on the host?” And I was like, “Why? What? I’m not here selling makeup.” You know what I mean? If I had my own makeup line, yeah, that would make sense, but I’m here to talk about my album.
It’s like, would you ask a woman to put makeup on the host? No. They’re like innocent double standards, you know what I mean? I’m not offended, but I’m also like, “Uh ... OK.”
Queen and Adam Lambert perform at Fire Fight Australia, a concert for National Bushfire Relief in Sydney on Feb. 16, 2020. PETER PARKS via Getty Images
These days, it’s hard to stay home and keep yourself busy and everything.
I know, right? Well, I started putting wigs on and posting them on Instagram. That’s what happened to me.
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Do you feel like there’s something that you’re itching to do that you haven’t done yet or something that’s on the horizon?
I would like to get more into the acting world. I think that would be really fun. And also, I’m starting to become interested in planting seeds in the creative space where it’s not necessarily for my own music, but to create other projects behind the scenes, to be a producer or a writer or a consultant. There’s definitely some stuff in the works. So I’m getting geared up for that.


huffpost--2020-04-01--Man Who Died In Sing Sing Prison Tested Positive For COVID-19

At Sing Sing , men were already frightened before the death .
On Sunday evening , Bryant called me to say he ’ d heard that someone who worked in the mess hall had tested positive for COVID-19 .
He feared the virus would quickly spread because even though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended mitigation strategies for correctional facilities similar to those it has for the rest of the country — “ Implement social distancing strategies to increase the physical space between incarcerated/detained persons ( ideally 6 feet between all individuals , regardless of the presence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no way to do so in prison .
Now , people inside Sing Sing , like others detained around the country , are desperate for both more protection and more information .
They know the coronavirus pandemic is spreading in the U.S. broadly and in the prison system .
Mosquero ’ s death was a reminder of just how dire the problem is , and how little they can do about it .
As of Wednesday morning , 147 of the department ’ s approximately 29,000 employees had contracted COVID-19 statewide , according @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 43,000 individuals incarcerated in New York state prisons had also tested positive for the virus .
DOCCS did not provide numbers for COVID-19 cases specifically at Sing Sing , but Dorian Moore , the inmate grievance representative at the prison , said that during a meeting with Capra , the superintendent said that 50 staff members are currently out sick , 22 of whom have tested positive for COVID-19 .
Two civilian employees and one incarcerated person have also tested positive .
Norman said he and others in his dormitory watched as a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as a quarantine unit , but said that corrections officers go from that building into the rest of the facility .
He said an officer who had been working in the quarantine dormitory had also been working in his dormitory for a few days , fell ill , and then , according to information Norman said came from officers , was told he shouldn ’ t go to work on Tuesday .
Steve Zeidman , a professor at the City University of New York ’ s School of Law , runs the school @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bryant and a number of other men seeking clemency .
He is pushing not just for the release of people who are vulnerable to the virus due to age or medical conditions , but for people like Bryant , who have served long sentences and demonstrated change .
Bryant has started a number of initiatives behind bars , including a gun buyback program , and recently gave a talk on the impact of incarceration on children with parents behind bars as part of TedxSingSing .
“ [ Francisco ] and I are very @ @ @ @ @ @ @ frontline , seeing many of them crying on the news is heart wrenching , ” Bryant wrote .
“ We have families out there who may need [ these ] same healthcare workers , our communities seem to be stretched to capacity , so whatever we can do to help we are willing to .
”

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This article was reported in partnership with Type Investigations.
On Monday morning, I received a frantic message from a man at Sing Sing Correctional Facility.
“Lisa, this is crazy, a law library clerk just died,” wrote Bruce Bryant via JPay, an electronic mail system for people incarcerated at New York state prisons.
A few hours later, he added: “He was in isolation for a couple of weeks complaining about loss of breath, all they gave him was generic Tylenol, he supposedly had Covid 19, I think his name was Mosquero…It’s getting crazy, guys are really scared.”
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The New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) confirmed that Juan Mosquero, a 58-year-old incarcerated at Sing Sing in Ossining, New York, had died at approximately 7:43 a.m. on March 30, after having received emergency medical attention.
On Thursday, the Westchester County Medical Examiner confirmed that Mosquero had tested positive for COVID-19 ― the disease caused by the coronavirus. While the medical examiner has yet to determine the cause of death, if Mosquero’s death was tied to COVID-19, it would be the first fatality from the virus in a New York state prison.
At Sing Sing, men were already frightened before the death. On Sunday evening, Bryant called me to say he’d heard that someone who worked in the mess hall had tested positive for COVID-19. He feared the virus would quickly spread because even though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended mitigation strategies for correctional facilities similar to those it has for the rest of the country — “Implement social distancing strategies to increase the physical space between incarcerated/detained persons (ideally 6 feet between all individuals, regardless of the presence of symptoms)” — there is no way to do so in prison.
Now, people inside Sing Sing, like others detained around the country, are desperate for both more protection and more information. They know the coronavirus pandemic is spreading in the U.S. broadly and in the prison system. Mosquero’s death was a reminder of just how dire the problem is, and how little they can do about it.
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On Monday evening, according to several men at Sing Sing, Superintendent Michael Capra shared information about Mosquero’s death with the prison population. He said Mosquero had died of flu-like symptoms, and that the cause of death would be determined by the medical examiner’s office.
Bryant’s cell is on the level below Mosquero’s, and he said when officers came to remove Mosquero’s belongings, “They had on full gowns, boots wrapped up and everything. If he didn’t have the virus, why were they dressed like that?”
DOCCS would not respond to questions about Mosquero’s illness and treatment, in accordance with HIPAA, as of Wednesday, when this story was initially published.
As of Wednesday morning, 147 of the department’s approximately 29,000 employees had contracted COVID-19 statewide, according to DOCCS. Seventeen of the approximately 43,000 individuals incarcerated in New York state prisons had also tested positive for the virus. DOCCS did not provide numbers for COVID-19 cases specifically at Sing Sing, but Dorian Moore, the inmate grievance representative at the prison, said that during a meeting with Capra, the superintendent said that 50 staff members are currently out sick, 22 of whom have tested positive for COVID-19. Two civilian employees and one incarcerated person have also tested positive.
After his death, word spread throughout Sing Sing that Mosquero had died of COVID-19.
Jermaine Archer worked in the Sing Sing law library with Mosquero. They were considered essential workers, and were still reporting to work every day.
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Mosquero “was funny, kind hearted, quick witted (even with limited english) and hardworking,” Archer wrote on JPay on Monday. “He was the porter, and when all of this began he made sure to bleach everything down as soon as we got there.”
Archer said that according to friends who work in the infirmary, Mosquero was quarantined there on March 20.
Moore, 49, confirmed via JPay that Mosquero had been in the infirmary for about 10 days, and said he was told by people who work there that Mosquero had been having difficulty breathing and was given aspirin.
One advocate outside the prison said that Mosquero had been denied medical treatment on three occasions for his symptoms, according to someone within the facility. Another advocate told me that a friend at Sing Sing said he’d shared his own personal medication with Mosquero, who was not being given anything by prison staff.
Struggling To Remain Safe
The anxiety in prisons has been heightened in part because of the lack of information from official channels, which means that those incarcerated at Sing Sing and other facilities often rely on information passed amongst themselves.
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Taverial Norman, 43, said that at Franklin Correctional Facility in Malone, New York, fights have broken out over men coughing within enclosed spaces.
“The anxiety is kicking in because the facility doesn’t let us know anything,” he said.
Norman said he and others in his dormitory watched as a building next to theirs was set up as a quarantine unit, but said that corrections officers go from that building into the rest of the facility. He said an officer who had been working in the quarantine dormitory had also been working in his dormitory for a few days, fell ill, and then, according to information Norman said came from officers, was told he shouldn’t go to work on Tuesday.
Norman had tuberculosis as a child and now has chronic bronchitis, high blood pressure and other illnesses that would make him highly susceptible to COVID-19.
“I literally stay in my cube under my covers basically the whole day,” he said, though even then it is difficult to stay 6 feet away from others in a dormitory shared with approximately 50 other men.
Norman’s wife, Keziah, said that in earlier conversations Norman said his hands were constantly shaking, he hadn’t eaten and was unable to sleep. She is especially worried, because her cousin works at Elmhurst Hospital in Queens, where she has seen firsthand the refrigerated trucks filled with bodies that the packed morgue cannot hold.
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The couple have argued because Keziah has told her husband he shouldn’t leave his dormitory, even to make food.
“We had a huge argument because I told him, ‘You can’t cook right now. You have to eat out of a can,’ and he said, ‘I’m hungry. I haven’t eaten in a week,’” she said. “I know I’m really not patient right now, but with the spike in cases overnight in New York, it’s like I can’t even breathe.”
Many incarcerated people are worried that corrections officers, who are among the only people entering the facilities now that visitors are banned, could be bringing the coronavirus with them.
Norman said he’s noticed corrections officers failing to maintain proper social distance.
Mike Mazzella, mid-Hudson region vice president for the New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association, said that corrections officers are doing their best but need more support from DOCCS to keep themselves and others safe.
Mazzella said that in his region alone, which has about 5,000 members in 13 correctional facilities, there are 261 corrections officers and sergeants quarantined, with 51 who have tested positive for COVID-19.
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“After furiously advocating for our members to be able to wear N95 masks while on duty, the DOCCS finally started allowing it [on Wednesday],” Mazzella said in an email.
Mazzella is concerned that the directive on wearing N95 masks may have come too late, and also expressed concern that officers with weakened immune systems due to cancer and other illnesses were still being directed to work.
“At least, as of today, they will be able to wear a mask to keep them safer,” he said.
DOCCS said officers have been wearing masks when dealing with medical situations, noting that “[b]oth the CDC and New York State Department of Health have repeatedly stated that face masks should not be worn for general protection from COVID-19 and should only be worn by medical/first responder personnel who are working directly with individuals who are sick and those who are infected.”
Pleading For Help
Lawyers and prison advocates have been pressing for New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) to release the elderly and those with underlying medical conditions that would make them more at risk of dying from COVID-19.
Jose Saldana, director of Release Aging People in Prison, said that even though he has heard from incarcerated men that cell blocks are being fitted with plexiglass to transform them into quarantine areas, it won’t be enough to stop the spread of the disease and the deaths that will come with it.
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“These men and women have not been sentenced to death, but if they get the COVID-19 virus, the likelihood is they will die from it,” said Saldana. “[Cuomo] would then have transformed the New York state prisons into death camps.”
Steve Zeidman, a professor at the City University of New York’s School of Law, runs the school’s clemency clinic, which represents Bryant and a number of other men seeking clemency. He is pushing not just for the release of people who are vulnerable to the virus due to age or medical conditions, but for people like Bryant, who have served long sentences and demonstrated change. Bryant has started a number of initiatives behind bars, including a gun buyback program, and recently gave a talk on the impact of incarceration on children with parents behind bars as part of TedxSingSing.
“Social distancing in prison is not possible unless the number of people in prison is dramatically reduced. The looming crisis of COVID-19 in prison must be met with a much broader, and long overdue, approach to decarceration,” said Zeidman. “There are countless men in New York state prisons who merit release under any rational measure and yet are not old or sick.”
He said the governor’s office is considering a list of clients he submitted for clemency. The governor’s office did not respond to a request for comment on the issue of COVID-19 infections in prisons or clemency considerations.
As inmate grievance representative, Moore says he hears daily complaints both from inmates and staff at Sing Sing about COVID-19. He has met with Capra, the Sing Sing superintendent, to discuss these concerns and praised his efforts.
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“I must give Superintendent Capra the credit he deserves for trying to work with us as much as possible to quell the concerns and fear of the men here,” Moore wrote on JPay. But, he added, “Despite his efforts there is still not enough being done.”
“Truth is the conditions here don’t allow for certain precautionary measures to be taken, but there are still other things that can be done that aren’t being done,” Moore said.
Bryant’s friend Francisco Hernandez has been making masks by hand in his cell using handkerchiefs and cut up T-shirts, but for use for others, not those in the prison.
“[Francisco] and I are very concerned about the healthcare workers on the frontline, seeing many of them crying on the news is heart wrenching,” Bryant wrote. “We have families out there who may need [these] same healthcare workers, our communities seem to be stretched to capacity, so whatever we can do to help we are willing to.”
This article was updated on Thursday to reflect the news that Mosquero tested positive for COVID-19, according to the Westchester County Medical Examiner.
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