huffpost--2020-03-27--A $500 Billion Corporate Bailout? With Few Conditions? Katie Porter Wants Oversight Now.

Porter : No .
None of that is in the bill .
There are very few conditions on where this money can go .
There are a few general specifics .
But they are very broad .
They pertain primarily to not allowing stock buybacks or increases ― increases !
― in executive compensation during the term of this help .
It doesn ’ t talk about how we should think about these priorities like how we weigh the relative needs of manufacturers versus retail versus hospitality versus technology .
All of these sectors , all of that is left @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And this is a secretary of the treasury who frankly was tangled up in the last financial crisis in his role with OneWest in a way that does not give the American public the confidence that it should have and the confidence that it needs .
With TARP , the chair of the panel was a vote of the members , and that ’ s how Elizabeth Warren became the chair .
I think if you had not had Warren as chair , that would have been a toothless oversight panel .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Neil Barofsky did great work , but a lot of it was really slow and came out buried in these reports .
In Sen. Warren , then Professor Warren , you had somebody who was ready on day one and skilled on day one at communicating complex ideas to the American people .
I think that ’ s something that I ’ ve worked really hard on in my time in Congress , in hearings , to be able to ask questions and do oversight in a way where it ’ s very @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ m doing , what I ’ m asking and whether we ’ re getting a real , meaningful answer or not .
Porter : I don ’ t .
Timing is really really important , and I think the most important thing that I can do right now is to help the American people understand and help leadership understand how quickly Treasury will move .
We ’ re talking right now about how long will it take Americans to get checks , or how long will it take people to get their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of these SBA loans .
I want to be crystal clear : The Treasury can move this money in an hour .
So we really need this oversight panel up and running .
The people need to be picked .
They need to be ready to staff up and start working within an hour of the president signing the bill .
Or we ’ ll be in a situation where we ’ re looking back 30 days later and $ 40-50 billion could be gone out the door .
Porter : I did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her about some of her experiences with TARP and whether she thought there were lessons from that for this .
One of them was the importance of speed and getting it moving quickly .
And one of them was the importance of being able to communicate clearly to the American public .
I think it ’ s something we need to be looking for as we think about who is going to be the inspector general , who is going to be on this panel .

LOADING ERROR LOADING
WASHINGTON ― Whether or not they realized it, lawmakers just passed a $2 trillion stimulus bill that lets Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin give $500 billion to corporations without any particularly meaningful oversight on how it gets spent, which sectors will be treated as a bigger priority for getting financial help, or when the money will be repaid.
Billions of those dollars could begin flowing within an hour of President Donald Trump signing the bill into law, which he did Friday evening.
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This has been keeping Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) up at night. That, and a nasty virus that seemed a lot like COVID-19, though she tested negative for it on Friday.
Porter knows a thing or two about strong oversight of taxpayer money: In 2012, then-California Attorney General Kamala Harris appointed her to oversee banks’ implementation of $9.5 billion in mortgage settlement reforms.
An attorney who studied under Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) at Harvard Law School, Porter has also drawn attention for her sharp questioning of bank executives in the House Financial Services Committee. In March 2019, she caught Wells Fargo CEO Tim Sloan contradicting what his corporate lawyers had argued in court, saying that statements he had previously made vowing transparency were “corporate puffery.” Porter made news again in April 2019 with her questioning of JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, pressing him on how a Chase bank teller should make up a $567 shortfall between her monthly budget and paycheck.
HuffPost caught up with Porter to get her take on this $500 billion Treasury Department fund. There are some oversight measures written into the bill ― it creates a special inspector general and a congressional oversight panel and requires Treasury to post its transactions on its website. But Porter said she’s “very unhappy” with the way the fund has been structured and fears that, without immediate and robust oversight, America could see a repeat of what happened when the government spent $700 billion bailing out banks under the 2008 Troubled Asset Relief Program: massive amounts of taxpayer money suddenly gone and nobody really sure where it went.
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To connect a couple more dots, oversight of the Treasury fund is modeled after the TARP approach, and Warren led TARP’s congressional oversight panel. Porter said she and Warren have been talking this week about lessons learned ― good and bad ― from the way TARP was rolled out.
Here’s our Q&A with Porter, whom we spoke with over the phone on Thursday night. It has been edited for brevity.
"What really concerns me about the stimulus is the lack of robust oversight over the Treasury fund," Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) told HuffPost. Tom Williams via Getty Images
HuffPost: Hi, Congresswoman. You’ve self-quarantined. How are you feeling?
Porter: I’m feeling a little better today. So that’s good. I haven’t heard yet [on the test results] but we’re hoping to hear soon.
HuffPost: Good to hear. What’s your take on the $2 trillion stimulus bill?
Porter: There’s a number of really terrific things in this bill. The $100 billion to hospitals and health care providers who are on the front line of this crisis is incredibly important. This bill has important resources for small businesses, including grants. They’re not loans. They don’t need to be repaid. Grants that would simply help businesses stay afloat and keep as many people on payroll as possible during this period. Disaster relief funding for FEMA will be really important in California. The increase in unemployment insurance money. Last, the direct cash payments, though I am very concerned about those payments being too small, taking too long to reach people and being unavailable and phased out for folks in higher-cost-of-living areas.
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What really concerns me about the stimulus is the lack of robust oversight over the Treasury fund. As I understand it, we’re talking about roughly $500 billion. There’s no reason there can’t be stronger oversight here except that, frankly, clearly, we couldn’t get to an agreement with the Trump administration and with the Senate Republicans about it.
With TARP, the money was dispensed overnight. By the time we understood how much had gone out the door, we didn’t know where and how it was being used. In this situation, it obviously needs to be abbreviated, expedited and controlled so that we get decisions made. But there can and should be a public debate about how this $500 billion is going to be used. So, should we be using it for the airline industry? How about versus other transportation sector needs like Amtrak or the cruise ship industry? How does the cruise ship industry compare to the gaming and casino industry?
I understand a lot of it can be used to basically transmit to corporations. The corporations can then use that as a downpayment ― that is, they can leverage it to borrow even more. That’s why you’re hearing these numbers in the $4 to $6 trillion range.
But the public needs to understand which industries are getting this. What, if any, conditions are being put on it? What is the time frame for paying this back? And just like we had a robust debate in the last two weeks about “Should we pay for testing? Should we pay for treatment? What about people who have insurance?” ― we had a public debate around all of those things. There should be room to have public debate on this $500 billion fund.
“I do support this bill. I think we cannot wait longer. But I want to be clear, I’m very unhappy about the structure and the lack of oversight of this Treasury fund.” - Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.)
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HuffPost: The bill doesn’t give details on any of those points you just raised.
Porter: No. None of that is in the bill. There are very few conditions on where this money can go. There are a few general specifics. But they are very broad. They pertain primarily to not allowing stock buybacks or increases ― increases! ― in executive compensation during the term of this help. It doesn’t talk about how we should think about these priorities like how we weigh the relative needs of manufacturers versus retail versus hospitality versus technology. All of these sectors, all of that is left to the secretary of the treasury. And this is a secretary of the treasury who frankly was tangled up in the last financial crisis in his role with OneWest in a way that does not give the American public the confidence that it should have and the confidence that it needs.
My understanding is this bill will require the transactions to be posted to the Treasury Department website. I have a lot of questions about the level of detail we’re going to be getting and whether the public is going to be able to really understand what’s being done with their taxpayer money.
There is this congressional oversight panel and this inspector general. That structure is clearly based off of TARP. Again, I would just say, this is not fully analogous. There is more time here. Not that there is time to waste, but there is time to act.
As I understand it, right now the first report of this congressional oversight panel is not due until 30 days after the Treasury makes its first loan. I was thinking about this yesterday when I was lying in bed.
HuffPost: As one does when one is lying in bed.
Porter: Right. I was thinking about the word “oversight” because I keep hearing the speaker say, I keep hearing leadership say, “oversight, oversight, oversight.” Really, when you think about what overseeing something means, it means you are literally watching it in real time. You are seeing how it is done. Right? So when we conduct oversight of how our food is manufactured or processed, or we conduct oversight to clinical test results, those are very much real-time things.
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This is all in the past. So this is not so much oversight as it is historical study. What happened 30 days ago. In the scheme of this pandemic, which may last two weeks, four weeks, it could be 60 or 90 days, the first report is not coming until 30 days after the Treasury first takes action. I think that’s too slow.
HuffPost: In the end, will you support this bill?
Porter: I’m not going to be voting because I can’t travel to Washington.
HuffPost: Right, but in public statements?
Porter: I do support this bill. I think we cannot wait longer. But I want to be clear, I’m very unhappy about the structure and the lack of oversight of this Treasury fund. I don’t see any meaningful justification for it other than we couldn’t politically get there.
HuffPost: This bill is going to pass. What’s the first thing Congress should do to make sure there is strong oversight of this $500 billion fund?
Porter: To really press for immediate, like day-after-the-bill-is-passed appointment of that special inspector general. It’s to get that congressional oversight commission appointed immediately, like within hours of the president signing this bill. Because we have to have them beginning to do this work. Like I said, it’s not transparency. It’s history. That is one of the concerns I have.
I disagree with Democratic leadership. I would not characterize this as ― and this is in the Senate talking points, but I’m sure the House’s are similar ― they’re characterizing this as robust transparency protections. I would respectfully say I think these are potentially weak transparency protections. They’re certainly shaky and they’re only going to be as good as how quickly we move and how strong of people we put into these roles of being special inspector general and being on the oversight panel.
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HuffPost: Do you want to be on the congressional oversight panel?
Porter: I would love to continue to help to serve the government in any way that I can. I obviously watched very closely and testified before the TARP oversight panel―
HuffPost: Congresswoman, you are a perfect fit for this. This could be the Katie Porter oversight panel.
Porter: Look, I think it’s really important that whoever goes on this panel has the ability to get started immediately. This is not a situation where you can take smart, well-intentioned people who have no experience in the financial sector or doing oversight work. We just don’t have that kind of ramp-up here. So if you think about the difference it made to have someone like Elizabeth Warren be the chair of the TARP panel, it was how quickly she was able to get them all going. It was because she had the knowledge.
I think we have a few days if we’re going to get this panel assembled and active so it can be in partnership, in true oversight, with the treasury secretary from the get-go. Secretary Mnuchin could move this money out within hours of the president signing the law. It’s incredibly important that we move quickly.
“They’re characterizing this as robust transparency protections. I would respectfully say I think these are potentially weak transparency protections.” - Porter
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With TARP, the chair of the panel was a vote of the members, and that’s how Elizabeth Warren became the chair. I think if you had not had Warren as chair, that would have been a toothless oversight panel. I think [TARP program] Special Inspector Neil Barofsky did great work, but a lot of it was really slow and came out buried in these reports. In Sen. Warren, then Professor Warren, you had somebody who was ready on day one and skilled on day one at communicating complex ideas to the American people. I think that’s something that I’ve worked really hard on in my time in Congress, in hearings, to be able to ask questions and do oversight in a way where it’s very clear to the American people what I’m doing, what I’m asking and whether we’re getting a real, meaningful answer or not.
HuffPost: So you would like to be on this committee.
Porter: Yes.
HuffPost: Have you spoken to leadership about it?
Porter: No. I wanted to wait until we had a bill to really see what was provided in it. I was hopeful there would still be some opportunity to strengthen it. It appears that we’re just going to be voting on the exact thing the Senate passed. So I’m continuing to ask questions.
I was on a call this morning with about 100 members and I was asking questions and trying to get people thinking about what some of the lessons are from TARP. So regardless of who ends up serving in this role, I intend to be very involved from my role on Financial Services and my role on [the House Oversight and Reform Committee] hearing from folks who are doing this work. I think there are a lot of lessons for them from both what went well and what didn’t go well with regard to TARP.
HuffPost: Do you have any sense from leadership of how quickly they might be able to get this panel up and running?
Porter: I don’t. Timing is really really important, and I think the most important thing that I can do right now is to help the American people understand and help leadership understand how quickly Treasury will move. We’re talking right now about how long will it take Americans to get checks, or how long will it take people to get their unemployment claims, or about the processing of these SBA loans. I want to be crystal clear: The Treasury can move this money in an hour. So we really need this oversight panel up and running. The people need to be picked. They need to be ready to staff up and start working within an hour of the president signing the bill. Or we’ll be in a situation where we’re looking back 30 days later and $40-50 billion could be gone out the door.
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HuffPost: I don’t think many people have really grasped this.
Porter: I don’t, either. I heard [American Prospect executive editor] David Dayen talking yesterday. He used a term that has sort of haunted me for the last 24 hours. He described this Treasury fund as “a money cannon” that Secretary Mnuchin could fire. I think that’s right. In other words, it’s like a cannonball. You drop it in there and it only takes a few seconds for the fuse to go off and the money’s gone.
That means you have to really point the cannon in the right place. We have to know who the enemy is here and what you’re hoping to accomplish. That was a helpful visual, I thought, to get people to understand.
The ways that consumers and businesses get help here are going to be much slower. Even if we can do direct deposit to a lot of those taxpayers who have direct deposit on account with the Treasury, that will still be a week, two weeks at the fastest. And it’s not 500. Billion. Dollars.
“When they figure out that so-and-so go bailed out 24 hours after President Trump signed the law and they’re going to be waiting 24 days at best to get a check or a small business loan ... the American public is going to be upset.” - Porter
HuffPost: I suspect some members of Congress don’t even realize how fast this money can go out.
Porter: We had five conference calls yesterday, the House Democrats did, with different committees. Five calls. Each lasted an hour and 10 minutes. So I was six hours on the phone. Zero questions were asked about this except by me.
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HuffPost: So what does that tell you? Lawmakers don’t realize what they just agreed to do?
Porter: I think this is just not as accessible to the typical member. This is not what members of Congress do. They debate programs, right? They appropriate money. They think about the right policy trade-offs. That’s not this. This really is straight-up oversight work.
The other thing I’d say, from the foreclosure crisis, the national mortgage settlement, I 100% believe those attorneys general and President Obama, when he announced HAMP [Home Affordable Modification Program] and making homes affordable and all those programs, the intent to help was there. The execution was a disaster.
So I believe my colleagues are taking the word of our businesses and our industry that they need help. I don’t question that. I believe a lot of companies and businesses, big and small, need help. But the execution of it is incredibly important because the American public, who is going to continue to suffer, when they figure out that so-and-so go bailed out 24 hours after President Trump signed the law and they’re going to be waiting 24 days at best to get a check or a small business loan or even get acknowledged that the Small Business Administration got their paperwork, the American public is going to be upset.
The Treasury fund is not a bad policy idea, and I think that’s why my colleagues are not necessarily questioning it. That, plus just a lack of familiarity with some of these topics. But just because it’s a good idea does not mean it will be well-executed. If there’s anything we should have learned from the coronavirus pandemic response, it’s that it may not be well-executed.
HuffPost: OK. Is there anything else you want to say on this?
Porter: I did speak to Sen. Warren yesterday and asked her about some of her experiences with TARP and whether she thought there were lessons from that for this. One of them was the importance of speed and getting it moving quickly. And one of them was the importance of being able to communicate clearly to the American public. I think it’s something we need to be looking for as we think about who is going to be the inspector general, who is going to be on this panel.
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When Democratic and Republican leaders and the president are all saying that there are robust transparency protections and there is strong oversight, then by God, that’s what there should be. I’m not confident that’s going to happen.
When you start characterizing things as strong, as robust, as transparent, those are adjectives. You have to do the work to make them come true. Nobody is saying, for instance, that the cash payments to workers are sufficient, right? Because we don’t know. We should be careful here on how we’re selling this. And we have to be prepared to really dig in and do the work.


huffpost--2020-05-10--Alec Baldwin's Trump Chugs Clorox For 'Class Of COVID-19' On 'SNL' Finale

Alec Baldwin played Donald Trump at a virtual high school graduation in the cold open for the “ Saturday Night Live ” big season finale .
He chugged Clorox and urged students to “ live every day like it ’ s your last ” because “ we ’ re going to let this virus run wild.
” “ Trump ” ― who referred to himself as a valedictator in SNL ’ s third “ at home ” episode ― took a few minutes to talk about ... himself .
He complained he ’ s been treated worse than any other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Wait a minute , wasn ’ t he assassinated ?
” asks “ student ” Chris Redd on Zoom .
Baldwin snaps : “ I ’ m not taking questions , Bebop .
I ’ m only telling you the truth.
” “ Trump ” encouraged the graduates of the “ class of COVID-19 ” to “ believe ” in themselves and accomplish great things .
“ Look at me , ” he pointed out .
“ I started as the son of a simple , wealthy slumlord , and grew to become @ @ @ @ @ @ @ world ’ s leading expert on infectious diseases.
” Another tip : “ Surround yourself with the worst people you can find ; that way you ’ ll always shine.
” Check out the video up top .

Alec Baldwin played Donald Trump at a virtual high school graduation in the cold open for the “Saturday Night Live” big season finale. He chugged Clorox and urged students to “live every day like it’s your last” because “we’re going to let this virus run wild.”
“Trump” ― who referred to himself as a valedictator in SNL’s third “at home” episode ― took a few minutes to talk about ... himself. He complained he’s been treated worse than any other president, including Abraham Lincoln. “Wait a minute, wasn’t he assassinated?” asks “student” Chris Redd on Zoom. Baldwin snaps: “I’m not taking questions, Bebop. I’m only telling you the truth.”
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“Trump” encouraged the graduates of the “class of COVID-19” to “believe” in themselves and accomplish great things.
“Look at me,” he pointed out. “I started as the son of a simple, wealthy slumlord, and grew to become a billionaire, a president and the world’s leading expert on infectious diseases.”
Another tip: “Surround yourself with the worst people you can find; that way you’ll always shine.”
And “never wear sunscreen.”


huffpost--2020-05-10--For Full-Time RVers, Sheltering In Place Is Not An Option

Denny Winkowski and his wife , Veronica Ibañes , were still asleep on the morning of March 20 when they heard a knock on the door of their RV in Marfa , Texas .
It was a city official , telling them they had to vacate the small RV park where they had decided to stay through the state ’ s shelter-in-place order .
The county had just made the decision to close down all RV parks and hotels , and the couple had 72 hours to pack up and leave .
There are only 1,700 residents in Marfa , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t want transient residents coming in and out , using its tiny grocery stores and other local businesses .
But Denny and Veronica , who have lived full-time in their RV for the last seven years , felt like they ’ d hit a dead end .
They are just one example of the many full-time RVer families who have had to scramble for a place to settle down somewhat indefinitely as the coronavirus pandemic puts city after city on lockdown across the United States .
Those lockdowns have resulted in businesses @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” being temporarily shuttered ― including , in many cases , the state parks where families like Denny and Veronica could set up shop .
They were able to settle briefly at the RV park in Medina Lake ― only because of the kindness of the park management for letting them extend their stay .
Otherwise , they would have been forced out again , sleeping on the side of the road or at a Walmart parking lot without access to a sewage system , electrical hookups , fuel for propane , or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now en route to North Carolina .
The two have lived on the road for about five and a half years , Jean said .
They were staying at an RV park in Arizona when the coronavirus outbreak hit the U.S. , so they decided to cut their time in the Southwest short and head up to stay near their kids and grandkids in Idaho .
“ Typically , we take our time , maybe a couple weeks , getting from Arizona to Idaho , ” Jean said .
But they wanted to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ road as little as possible and get there as soon as they could .
They attempted to stay in a casino parking lot just north of Las Vegas but were met with blockades .
They considered themselves lucky to find a large dirt parking lot on the side of the freeway to sleep instead .
They drove all day the next day , making it to southern Idaho around 6 p.m. , where they managed to find an Elks Lodge just before the facility stopped letting people in .
“ We were able @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would not have been able to make arrangements to do so , ” Jean said .
“ We were informed that they were being shut down that evening , as an ‘ essential business only ’ order was going into effect.
” “ We live a pretty normal life , with the exception of choosing to live and work in a home on wheels , ” Jean said .
“ We are self-contained and can social distance very easily .
Like many people , we were just looking for a safe place to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pandemic , and it seems our needs have been overlooked or forgotten by the authorities setting the guidelines.
” Because of this , many RV residents were eager to follow the CDC guidelines and stick to their RVs and RV parks , which are usually secluded from neighboring cities and towns , and certainly have more than six feet of distance from one vehicle to another .
Escapees has had to jump in and help its members find suitable short- and long-term solutions .
The organization owns one RV park in New Mexico @ @ @ @ @ @ @ guests and said that , per their interpretation of the county mandate , it had to be at 25 % occupancy .
At the time , the park was at 100 % percent capacity , with some tenants there for the long-term .
“ We were trying to encourage people to stay in place , but [ the state official ] was trying to get us to kick out 75 % or our guests , ” Austin said .
“ We were able to make quick contact with that police department and negotiate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In the end , the visitors already on site were able to stay , but future reservations had to be canceled .
That was great for those visitors ― but not for the many who were en route for their long-term stays .

Denny Winkowski and his wife, Veronica Ibañes, were still asleep on the morning of March 20 when they heard a knock on the door of their RV in Marfa, Texas. It was a city official, telling them they had to vacate the small RV park where they had decided to stay through the state’s shelter-in-place order. The county had just made the decision to close down all RV parks and hotels, and the couple had 72 hours to pack up and leave.
“They abruptly displaced us,” Winkowski said. “But we sort of expected it. Understandably, they have to protect their own.”
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There are only 1,700 residents in Marfa, and officials in the small community didn’t want transient residents coming in and out, using its tiny grocery stores and other local businesses. But Denny and Veronica, who have lived full-time in their RV for the last seven years, felt like they’d hit a dead end.
They are just one example of the many full-time RVer families who have had to scramble for a place to settle down somewhat indefinitely as the coronavirus pandemic puts city after city on lockdown across the United States. Those lockdowns have resulted in businesses that aren’t considered “essential” being temporarily shuttered ― including, in many cases, the state parks where families like Denny and Veronica could set up shop.
Denny Winkowski and Veronica Ibañes by their RV at Carolina Landing RV Resort in Fair Play, South Carolina, on May. The couple, who have lived and worked full time from an RV since 2013, have run into difficulty while attempting to adhere to shelter-in-place protocols. Casey Sykes for HuffPost
Through a support network of other full-time RVers, Winkowski and Ibañes learned of an RV park in Medina Lake, a six-hour drive from Marfa, and headed out right away. They stayed near a lake on the Texas-Mexico border for a night en route.
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They were able to settle briefly at the RV park in Medina Lake ― only because of the kindness of the park management for letting them extend their stay. Otherwise, they would have been forced out again, sleeping on the side of the road or at a Walmart parking lot without access to a sewage system, electrical hookups, fuel for propane, or dumping sites for water. They are now en route to North Carolina.
“It was dicey,” Winkowski said. “People are being displaced, and then displaced again.”
State and federal parks have been deemed “nonessential” to maintain social distancing and shelter-in-place measures ― but the couple says that they, and families like them, aren’t using the parks for a vacation.
“As full-time RVers, our RV is our only home,” said Jean Mathes, who lives on wheels with her husband, Duane, full time.
The two have lived on the road for about five and a half years, Jean said. They were staying at an RV park in Arizona when the coronavirus outbreak hit the U.S., so they decided to cut their time in the Southwest short and head up to stay near their kids and grandkids in Idaho.
Jean and Duane Mathes with their RV home at the Hi Valley RV Park in Eagle, Idaho. Jean and Duane made it to their reservation at Hi Valley but found many RV parks closed on their way to Idaho from Arizona. Kyle Green for HuffPost
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“Typically, we take our time, maybe a couple weeks, getting from Arizona to Idaho,” Jean said. But they wanted to do their best to be on the road as little as possible and get there as soon as they could.
They attempted to stay in a casino parking lot just north of Las Vegas but were met with blockades. They considered themselves lucky to find a large dirt parking lot on the side of the freeway to sleep instead. They drove all day the next day, making it to southern Idaho around 6 p.m., where they managed to find an Elks Lodge just before the facility stopped letting people in.
“We were able to stay, but anyone after us would not have been able to make arrangements to do so,” Jean said. “We were informed that they were being shut down that evening, as an ‘essential business only’ order was going into effect.”
“We were just looking for a safe place to stay at home and ride out the pandemic, and it seems our needs have been overlooked or forgotten by the authorities.” - Jean Mathes, full-time RVer
They’re now safely in Idaho at a private RV park that has remained open to visitors and where they plan on staying at least through the early summer.
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But like the Winkowskis, they’re frustrated that their best attempts to responsibly shelter in place were met with such frustrating obstacles.
“We live a pretty normal life, with the exception of choosing to live and work in a home on wheels,” Jean said. “We are self-contained and can social distance very easily. Like many people, we were just looking for a safe place to stay at home and ride out the pandemic, and it seems our needs have been overlooked or forgotten by the authorities setting the guidelines.”
Many full-time RVers are retirees and particularly susceptible to contracting COVID-19, said Georgianne Austin, communications director for Escapees, an RVer support organization.
Because of this, many RV residents were eager to follow the CDC guidelines and stick to their RVs and RV parks, which are usually secluded from neighboring cities and towns, and certainly have more than six feet of distance from one vehicle to another.
But instead, they’ve been continually punted all over the country.
“They’re being pushed out onto the roads, increasing the likelihood of exposure and exposing others,” said Austin. “It’s a tough situation and terrifying reality.”
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Jean and Duane Mathes take a walk through the Hi Valley RV Park in Eagle, Idaho. Kyle Green for HuffPost
Escapees has had to jump in and help its members find suitable short- and long-term solutions. The organization owns one RV park in New Mexico, where local law enforcement officials approached guests and said that, per their interpretation of the county mandate, it had to be at 25% occupancy. At the time, the park was at 100% percent capacity, with some tenants there for the long-term.
“We were trying to encourage people to stay in place, but [the state official] was trying to get us to kick out 75% or our guests,” Austin said. “We were able to make quick contact with that police department and negotiate with them and find a compromise.”
In the end, the visitors already on site were able to stay, but future reservations had to be canceled. That was great for those visitors ― but not for the many who were en route for their long-term stays.
Above all, full-time RVers want to be able to shelter in place for their safety and the safety of everyone else ― and that means city and state officials should deem RV parks essential.
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“They don’t realize the magnitude of people who live in this alternative lifestyle,” Winkowski said.
“By displacing us, we’re putting people in harm’s way, and we’re in harm’s way.”
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article said law enforcement in New Mexico were acting on a state mandate to clear RVers from state parks. It was a county mandate.


huffpost--2020-05-10--At Least We Have This Impression Of Britney Spears On 'Saturday Night Live'

The singer has had quite the week in between accidentally burning down her home gym and her album “ Glory ” hitting the top spot on the iTunes charts years after it was released .
You know , typical pop icon behavior !
So it was only natural that Spears ’ recent antics would become fodder for the “ Saturday Night Live ” season finale over the weekend when the late-night sketch show returned for its third and final “ at home ” special .
During a parody ad for Masterclass Quarantine Edition , Chloe Fineman donned Spears ’ signature @ @ @ @ @ @ @ closet of crop tops in one of her most fine-tuned impressions to date .
“ I ’ ve been quarantined for five years now and that ’ s OK , because all my favorite stuff is here , ” Fineman ’ s Spears says in the clip with the comedian nailing the uniquely Britney twitches and head tilts .
“ Oops I burned my gym down , ” she sings , “ so now I exercise outside !
When I ’ m looking for a creative outlet , sometimes I ’ ll paint @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I ’ m skinny as a needle !
” While it ’ s never clear what exactly Spears is teaching , she did offer up some ever-so-helpful wisdom to potential students braving the coronavirus pandemic .
“ The thing that helps me most in quarantine is being rich , ” Spears adds .
“ During this time of corona disease , we have to stay safe .
My prayer is with you .
I ’ m Britney Spears , and this is my master school.
” While Spears was the highlight , Fineman @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fleabag ” creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge to teach fans the joys of journaling , while Melissa Villasenor showcased her version of John Mulaney for a Masterclass on “ suits.
” The real Britney Spears has yet to make any further comment on her penchant for fire-starting , but , rest assured , she got back to posting four identical photos of herself on Instagram in no time .

"My loneliness is literally saving me!" Saturday Night Live
Things may be bad, but we’ll always have Britney Spears.
The singer has had quite the week in between accidentally burning down her home gym and her album “Glory” hitting the top spot on the iTunes charts years after it was released. You know, typical pop icon behavior!
So it was only natural that Spears’ recent antics would become fodder for the “Saturday Night Live” season finale over the weekend when the late-night sketch show returned for its third and final “at home” special.
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During a parody ad for Masterclass Quarantine Edition, Chloe Fineman donned Spears’ signature messy ponytail, overenthusiastic eye makeup and closet of crop tops in one of her most fine-tuned impressions to date.
“I’ve been quarantined for five years now and that’s OK, because all my favorite stuff is here,” Fineman’s Spears says in the clip with the comedian nailing the uniquely Britney twitches and head tilts.
“Oops I burned my gym down,” she sings, “so now I exercise outside! When I’m looking for a creative outlet, sometimes I’ll paint sometimes I’ll pose. And I’m skinny as a needle!”
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While it’s never clear what exactly Spears is teaching, she did offer up some ever-so-helpful wisdom to potential students braving the coronavirus pandemic.
“The thing that helps me most in quarantine is being rich,” Spears adds. “During this time of corona disease, we have to stay safe. My prayer is with you. I’m Britney Spears, and this is my master school.”
While Spears was the highlight, Fineman also blessed us her impression of “Fleabag” creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge to teach fans the joys of journaling, while Melissa Villasenor showcased her version of John Mulaney for a Masterclass on “suits.”
The real Britney Spears has yet to make any further comment on her penchant for fire-starting, but, rest assured, she got back to posting four identical photos of herself on Instagram in no time.


huffpost--2020-05-10--Boris Johnson Announces Modest Easing Of U.K.'s Coronavirus Lockdown

LONDON ( AP ) — U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a modest easing of the country ’ s coronavirus lockdown Sunday and outlined his government ’ s road map for further lifting restrictions in the coming months .
In a televised address to the nation , Johnson said people in Britain who can ’ t work from home , such as those in construction or manufacturing jobs , “ should be actively encouraged to go to work ” this week .
However , he said they should not travel by public transport and should abide with social distancing guidelines @ @ @ @ @ @ @ starting Wednesday , a restriction limiting outdoor exercise to once a day will be lifted and that people will be able to take “ unlimited amounts.
” He said people will be able to sunbathe , drive to other destinations and resume playing sports , but only with members of the same household .
`` We now need to stress that anyone who ca n't work from home ... should be encouraged to go to work '' UK PM Boris Johnson announces the first step to ease coronavirus restrictions in a conditional planhttps @ @ @ @ @ @ @ UK ) ( @ BBCNews ) May 10 , 2020 The prime minister , who spent a week in the hospital receiving treatment for COVID-19 , stressed that everyone must carry on abiding by social-distancing rules when out in public and that fines for flouting them will be increased .
Johnson said his government was able make some changes in the lockdown conditions it set because coronavirus-related deaths in the U.K. are declining along with hospital admissions of patients with the virus .
But he said it would be “ madness now to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ second spike.
” Johnson also laid out a “ conditional plan ” for relaxing other lockdown restrictions in the coming months , including the possible return to school for some younger children on June 1 .
He said he hoped some of the hospitality industry and more public places can reopen a month later , provided they are safe and enforce social distancing .
can reopen a month later .
The prime minister said he wanted to provide a “ sense of the way ahead , and when and how and on what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ proceed .
”

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LONDON (AP) — U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a modest easing of the country’s coronavirus lockdown Sunday and outlined his government’s road map for further lifting restrictions in the coming months.
In a televised address to the nation, Johnson said people in Britain who can’t work from home, such as those in construction or manufacturing jobs, “should be actively encouraged to go to work” this week.
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However, he said they should not travel by public transport and should abide with social distancing guidelines when at work.
Johnson said that starting Wednesday, a restriction limiting outdoor exercise to once a day will be lifted and that people will be able to take “unlimited amounts.”
He said people will be able to sunbathe, drive to other destinations and resume playing sports, but only with members of the same household.
"We now need to stress that anyone who can't work from home... should be encouraged to go to work"
UK PM Boris Johnson announces the first step to ease coronavirus restrictions in a conditional planhttps://t.co/XQK3OxhTTG pic.twitter.com/SYcgxDs0JT — BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) May 10, 2020
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The prime minister, who spent a week in the hospital receiving treatment for COVID-19, stressed that everyone must carry on abiding by social-distancing rules when out in public and that fines for flouting them will be increased.
Johnson said his government was able make some changes in the lockdown conditions it set because coronavirus-related deaths in the U.K. are declining along with hospital admissions of patients with the virus. But he said it would be “madness now to throw away that achievement by allowing a second spike.”
Johnson also laid out a “conditional plan” for relaxing other lockdown restrictions in the coming months, including the possible return to school for some younger children on June 1.
He said he hoped some of the hospitality industry and more public places can reopen a month later, provided they are safe and enforce social distancing. can reopen a month later.


huffpost--2020-05-10--Democrats Are Prepared To Lose The First Special Election Of The Pandemic Era

“ There are no two ways to slice it .
We are down right now , ” Smith ’ s campaign wrote in a fundraising email to supporters on Friday .
“ Republicans are turning in their ballots faster than Democrats .
We might just lose this toss-up election.
” Rep. Katie Hill answers questions from reporters at the U.S. Capitol following her final speech on the floor of the House of Representatives on Oct. 31 , 2019 .
It now looks like Democrats are going to lose the special election to replace her .
Even though Democrats outnumber Republicans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ outnumbered Democrats in returning the ballots that were mailed to every voter in the district because of the pandemic .
Democrats in both D.C. and California believe the party will have a better chance of winning the seat in November , when the electorate will be larger and more focused on the president .
Still , there is a possibility Smith will be able to close the gap in the final days .
Democrats successfully fought to open a voting center in a minority-majority city in the district for the final days of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ infuriated Trump , who spread falsehoods about the decision on Saturday .
“ So in California , the Democrats , who fought like crazy to get all mail in only ballots , and succeeded , have just opened a voting booth in the most Democrat area in the State , ” Trump wrote on Twitter .
“ They are trying to steal another election .
It ’ s all rigged out there .
These votes must not count .
SCAM !
” A Smith loss would be tough to take for Democrats in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But while the 2018 cycle saw a slew of close special elections that functioned as previews for the Democratic wave in that year ’ s midterm elections , operatives in both parties agree this election is more of a standalone event than a harbinger of things to come .
Garcia , a veteran and first-generation American , is the type of candidate Republicans often talk about recruiting but rarely convince to run .
While other swing districts in Southern California are located in Orange County , more upscale and trending sharply toward @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exurban and less educated , with agriculture , aerospace and defense as significant industries .
And Smith has made embarrassing missteps and struggled with fundraising in an ultra-expensive district .
Democrats were initially confident of holding onto the seat after Hill ’ s resignation following a messy scandal where nude photos of her were leaked on the internet and she admitted to an affair with a campaign staffer .
( She denied having an affair with a member of congressional staff , which would have violated House ethics rules . )
But while @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gun-owning , nonprofit founder and daughter of a policeman , was able to portray herself as part of a “ new generation of leaders , ” Smith has a more conventional political background as a staffer for the federal Department of Education , a local school board member and an assemblywoman .
And while Hill was considered a good fit for the district when she ran , her favorability ratings there are now deeply unpopular .
National Democrats grimaced when Hill used leftover campaign funds to run an ad featuring herself speaking direct-to-camera @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are some disagreements between Democrats over how Smith found herself in a weakened position .
While most of the Democrats who ran in special elections during the 2018 cycle found themselves raking in online small-dollar money hand over fist , Smith ’ s fundraising has been roughly parallel with Garcia ’ s .
While the DCCC has spent $ 3 million on ads , research and aid to the campaign , House Majority PAC ― a super PAC controlled by allies of Speaker Nancy Pelosi ― said this week it had decided not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the seat in November .
HMP , as the group is known , spent about $ 1 million before the primary trying to keep Garcia from finishing in the top two of the all-party primary .
( The other major Republican in the race was former Rep. Steve Knight , who lost to Hill in 2018 . )
Trump rapidly stepped up his involvement in the race on Saturday , focused on the opening of an in-person voting center in Lancaster ― a city where 58 % of residents are Black or Latino @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a slew of misleading Twitter missives on Saturday morning , he said votes cast at the center should be thrown out and falsely claimed the election was “ rigged.
” ( The mayor of Lancaster , a Republican who is supporting Garcia , supported the decision to open the voting center . )

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National Democrats are now prepared to lose in a special election to replace California Rep. Katie Hill in Congress, a stinging defeat in a district Democrats flipped less than two years ago and where the party’s candidate has relentlessly hammered President Donald Trump’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Absentee ballot returns and internal polling from both parties indicate that Mike Garcia, a GOP former fighter pilot and defense industry executive running with Trump’s endorsement, is now a clear favorite over Assemblywoman Christy Smith.
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The race was set after Hill, a Democrat, resigned from Congress following reports she had an affair with a staffer – a messy scandal that still looms over the election and is hurting Smith’s chances of victory, Democrats said.
“There are no two ways to slice it. We are down right now,” Smith’s campaign wrote in a fundraising email to supporters on Friday. “Republicans are turning in their ballots faster than Democrats. We might just lose this toss-up election.”
Rep. Katie Hill answers questions from reporters at the U.S. Capitol following her final speech on the floor of the House of Representatives on Oct. 31, 2019. It now looks like Democrats are going to lose the special election to replace her. Win McNamee via Getty Images
Even though Democrats outnumber Republicans in the district, Republicans have greatly outnumbered Democrats in returning the ballots that were mailed to every voter in the district because of the pandemic. Democrats in both D.C. and California believe the party will have a better chance of winning the seat in November, when the electorate will be larger and more focused on the president.
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Still, there is a possibility Smith will be able to close the gap in the final days. Democrats successfully fought to open a voting center in a minority-majority city in the district for the final days of the contest ― a development that has infuriated Trump, who spread falsehoods about the decision on Saturday.
“So in California, the Democrats, who fought like crazy to get all mail in only ballots, and succeeded, have just opened a voting booth in the most Democrat area in the State,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “They are trying to steal another election. It’s all rigged out there. These votes must not count. SCAM!”
A Smith loss would be tough to take for Democrats in a district where Trump remains deeply unpopular. But while the 2018 cycle saw a slew of close special elections that functioned as previews for the Democratic wave in that year’s midterm elections, operatives in both parties agree this election is more of a standalone event than a harbinger of things to come.
Garcia, a veteran and first-generation American, is the type of candidate Republicans often talk about recruiting but rarely convince to run. While other swing districts in Southern California are located in Orange County, more upscale and trending sharply toward Democrats, the 25th is inland, exurban and less educated, with agriculture, aerospace and defense as significant industries. And Smith has made embarrassing missteps and struggled with fundraising in an ultra-expensive district.
Democrats were initially confident of holding onto the seat after Hill’s resignation following a messy scandal where nude photos of her were leaked on the internet and she admitted to an affair with a campaign staffer. (She denied having an affair with a member of congressional staff, which would have violated House ethics rules.)
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Hill and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee quickly backed Smith to replace her. Smith finished first in the all-party jungle primary, earning 36 percent of the vote. (Her main Democratic competition, Young Turks host Cenk Uygur, earned just 6 percent.)
But while the 32-year-old Hill, a bisexual, gun-owning, nonprofit founder and daughter of a policeman, was able to portray herself as part of a “new generation of leaders,” Smith has a more conventional political background as a staffer for the federal Department of Education, a local school board member and an assemblywoman.
Republicans have hammered that more traditional record, with Garcia and the National Republican Congressional Committee labeling her “Sacramento Smith,” attacking her for laying off teachers following the Great Recession and for failing to hold hearings on pandemic preparedness in the legislature.
And while Hill was considered a good fit for the district when she ran, her favorability ratings there are now deeply unpopular. National Democrats grimaced when Hill used leftover campaign funds to run an ad featuring herself speaking direct-to-camera and encouraging people to vote.
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There are some disagreements between Democrats over how Smith found herself in a weakened position. While most of the Democrats who ran in special elections during the 2018 cycle found themselves raking in online small-dollar money hand over fist, Smith’s fundraising has been roughly parallel with Garcia’s.
After a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee briefing on the race in February, several California House Democrats said they planned to call Smith to push her to raise more cash, according to a Democratic source who attended the briefing.
While the DCCC has spent $3 million on ads, research and aid to the campaign, House Majority PAC ― a super PAC controlled by allies of Speaker Nancy Pelosi ― said this week it had decided not to spend and was focused on winning the seat in November. HMP, as the group is known, spent about $1 million before the primary trying to keep Garcia from finishing in the top two of the all-party primary. (The other major Republican in the race was former Rep. Steve Knight, who lost to Hill in 2018.)
Some Democrats in Southern California have grumbled that the money would’ve been better spent boosting Smith’s name identification in a district where it can be difficult to generate news media coverage ― the Los Angeles media market includes parts of 28 congressional districts.
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Smith has tried to keep the focus on Garcia’s ties to Trump, and on Trump’s poor response to the coronavirus.
“Donald Trump’s record on coronavirus?” a narrator asks in one of Smith’s ads. “Delays, dishonesty, failure. And Mike Garcia attacks everyone who doesn’t agree with Trump.”
Trump rapidly stepped up his involvement in the race on Saturday, focused on the opening of an in-person voting center in Lancaster ― a city where 58% of residents are Black or Latino, according to census data. In a slew of misleading Twitter missives on Saturday morning, he said votes cast at the center should be thrown out and falsely claimed the election was “rigged.” (The mayor of Lancaster, a Republican who is supporting Garcia, supported the decision to open the voting center.)
Garcia and the NRCC have echoed those comments. “Even after every voter received a ballot, they are desperate and trying to change the rules to steal an election,” Garcia wrote on Twitter. “We can’t let them succeed!!”


huffpost--2020-05-10--Here's Why The Coronavirus Death Toll Is Likely Underreported

There was a massive testing shortage early on in the crisis .
At the beginning of the coronavirus epidemic , the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention held the nation ’ s health care system on a tight leash .
In late January and early February , the agency was severely limiting the testing criteria patients needed to meet to certain symptoms paired with recent travel to China ( or contact with someone who recently traveled there ) .
Testing was expanded at the end of February to people who ’ d recently been to other places , including Italy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ needed to have certain symptoms , like a fever .
We don ’ t know exactly when the virus arrived here and where it went .
Precisely how long the virus has been spreading in the United States and what paths it has taken are also unknown factors .
The country saw its first confirmed case in late January , when a Washington state man who had returned from visiting family in China sought urgent care .
New York state got its first confirmed case over a month later , on March 1 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ migrated to them from China , too , but researchers out of Northeastern University now say it came over from Europe .
It can be difficult to decide how to fill out a death certificate when someone with the virus had a major underlying illness , and states aren ’ t all doing it the same way .
The CDC ’ s tally can be influenced by the Trump administration .
As a division of the Department of Health and Human Services , the CDC falls under the purview of the executive branch @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Daily Beast suggested that Trump and some members of his coronavirus task force are pushing CDC officials to change how the agency works with states to report COVID-19 deaths .
The changes could lead to fewer deaths than the agency previously reported by excluding those without confirmed lab results , according to five officials with knowledge of the matter cited in the report .
With so many variables , public health experts say that looking at “ excess deaths ” may actually be the key to understanding the virus ’ true impact .

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President Donald Trump thinks the coronavirus death toll figures are being inflated, with officials around him nodding in agreement, Axios reported this week. The outlet suggested the president may soon launch a sustained public attack on the numbers as the 2020 election gets closer.
Over at Fox News, political commentator Sean Hannity picked up a video casting heavy doubt on the figures. In the footage, produced by conservative activist group Project Veritas, several funeral home directors are shown opining that hospitals are defrauding the government by overreporting deaths from COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.
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Fueling the fire, conspiracy theories and misinformation have permeated social media, falsely suggesting the pandemic was manufactured for the purpose of controlling people.
But the crisis is devastatingly real. And far from being exaggerated, experts believe the true number of people who have died from COVID-19 is actually higher than what’s been reported ― more than 80,000 in the U.S. so far.
Here are some reasons why the coronavirus death toll is most likely an undercount — not an overcount.
There was a massive testing shortage early on in the crisis.
We know the virus does not affect everyone the same way. Some people can become infected and pass it on without exhibiting any symptoms. The first confirmed case in the U.S. was a man who had a fever and a dry cough, but not the shortness of breath that has been widely reported.
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At the beginning of the coronavirus epidemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention held the nation’s health care system on a tight leash. In late January and early February, the agency was severely limiting the testing criteria patients needed to meet to certain symptoms paired with recent travel to China (or contact with someone who recently traveled there). Testing was expanded at the end of February to people who’d recently been to other places, including Italy and Japan, but you generally still needed to have certain symptoms, like a fever.
Tests were doled out so sparingly in part because there were so few of them early on. The agency botched the process of a nationwide rollout by designing its own test instead of using one of the existing designs other countries were using. The CDC’s test was flawed, and fixing it took precious weeks while the agency refused to permit labs to find other solutions.
With so few tests, the agency essentially had to ration them. There are certainly more people who got sick with COVID-19 toward the beginning of the crisis than are part of the official record, and some of them probably died. Just how many more is unclear.
We don’t know exactly when the virus arrived here and where it went.
Precisely how long the virus has been spreading in the United States and what paths it has taken are also unknown factors. The country saw its first confirmed case in late January, when a Washington state man who had returned from visiting family in China sought urgent care. New York state got its first confirmed case over a month later, on March 1. Residents were initially told the virus migrated to them from China, too, but researchers out of Northeastern University now say it came over from Europe.
While restrictions on travel from China went into place in late January, it was several weeks before the Trump administration blocked travel from Europe, where the virus was wreaking havoc on Italy.
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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has estimated that more than 10,000 residents may have contracted the disease by the time his state confirmed its first official case. A CDC analysis released Monday suggested the virus’ death toll in New York City is likely several thousands higher than what has been reported.
“There are probably lots of unreported deaths in March in the big cities in the northeast and maybe Southern California,” Dr. Eili Klein, a professor of emergency medicine at Johns Hopkins, told HuffPost.
“There are probably very, very few unreported deaths in other parts of the country,” he added.
It can be difficult to decide how to fill out a death certificate when someone with the virus had a major underlying illness, and states aren’t all doing it the same way.
“If you have somebody who dies of a heart attack and tests positive for COVID-19, is the death due to COVID-19? Or is the death due to the heart attack, and the COVID-19 was completely just a bystander?” Klein said. “If you have somebody who is unwell already, and this precipitates a more rapid decline, you know, how do you measure that impact?”
What exactly killed a patient can sometimes be a tough question for doctors and medical examiners in charge of filling out the certificates in normal times. In the current crisis, figuring out how many people have died because of the virus is complicated by inconsistent reporting practices between the states.
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“Those numbers are only as good as the death certificates that they’re based on. And that depends upon the people who are filling them out,” Dr. James Gill, Connecticut’s chief medical examiner and vice president of the National Association of Medical Examiners told NBC News.
Florida’s health department, for example, has only been adding confirmed COVID-19 cases to its death toll. Medical examiners there have been keeping more detailed records, but the state has been trying to keep them under wraps. Meanwhile, New York’s health department began adding in presumed COVID-19 deaths last month as the number of people dying at home skyrocketed.
Even though testing capability has improved vastly across the country since February, tests are prioritized for the living ― meaning that it can be difficult to confirm a patient had COVID-19 after their death.
The CDC’s tally can be influenced by the Trump administration.
As a division of the Department of Health and Human Services, the CDC falls under the purview of the executive branch. A May 13 report from the Daily Beast suggested that Trump and some members of his coronavirus task force are pushing CDC officials to change how the agency works with states to report COVID-19 deaths. The changes could lead to fewer deaths than the agency previously reported by excluding those without confirmed lab results, according to five officials with knowledge of the matter cited in the report.
But there are other organizations keeping track of COVID-19 numbers.
Many news outlets have been publishing coronavirus statistics compiled by Johns Hopkins University, which uses its own data along with data from the Red Cross, the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Also reliable is The New York Times’ tally, compiled from state and local agencies and hospitals, according to the Yale School of Public Health. Both update more than once per day.
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With so many variables, public health experts say that looking at “excess deaths” may actually be the key to understanding the virus’ true impact.
Based on historical data and population trends, we can generally predict how many people are expected to die over time. Subtracting those “expected deaths” from the number of actual deaths gives you “excess deaths.” Epidemiologists believe this metric, measured on a weekly basis, “may be the most objective and comparable way of assessing the scale of the pandemic and formulating lessons to be learned,” according to an article in the medical journal The Lancet.
The CDC produces data on excess deaths, highlighting how many are COVID-19 cases in a series of interactive charts on its website. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the U.S. has logged thousands of excess deaths over the past several weeks, and data is still being collected.
In many states, the number of recorded COVID-19 deaths is actually smaller than the number of excess deaths from any other cause during certain weeks. New Jersey documented around 5,500 excess deaths over a four-week span between March and April, but only about 2,200 of them were categorized as COVID-19 deaths, according to a New York Times analysis. That leaves a gap of some 3,300 deaths.
Several factors could be at play. People may be scared about going into hospitals during the crisis, meaning that they may put off seeking potentially lifesaving care. Hospital resources, including care for non-COVID-19 conditions, may also be stretched too thin. In New York City, the number of people dying at home is six times higher than normal, according to a mid-April ProPublica report. In Detroit, the number is almost four times higher.
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“Is that because people were getting infected and the disease is causing more problems?” Klein asked. “Or was that because people were not going to the hospital and then dying at home or calling EMS late? It’s really hard to disentangle those two questions.”
COVID-19 has been known to have strange effects on the body, such as blood clotting and dangerously low oxygen levels, and patients can go from feeling relatively fine to deteriorating with alarming speed. Higher rates of suicide, domestic violence and substance overdoses in these anxious times may also explain some of the gap. Adding to the puzzle is the likelihood that, with so many Americans staying home, some causes of death, such as traffic accidents, may have plummeted.


huffpost--2020-05-10--Starbucks Workers Confront The Big Question: Should I Go Back To Work In A Pandemic?

Several said Starbucks is a decent employer that ’ s done some good things for employees during the pandemic .
The company has been more generous than a lot of other big chains .
It paid workers who chose to stay home rather than work during April , and has offered a $ 3 an hour premium to those willing to continue clocking in through May , which is more than what many grocery workers received .
Last week the chain reopened more than 85 % of stores nationwide , a move that coincided with the expiration of the social @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recommended .
The catastrophe pay would end for employees no longer willing to work after May 3 , unless they were sick or met certain other criteria .
Most workers would have to burn any paid time off they still had , apply for unpaid leave , or quit .
“ The feedback that we have received from many of our partners this week has been an excitement to welcome back our customers and support the community , ” Borges said .
“ Of course , we ’ re going to keep listening @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their input .
The priority for us is creating a safe and welcoming experience for everyone who comes to our stores.
” Unemployment Is Not An Option

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When her Starbucks store in downtown Baltimore reopened last week, Kealea Foy saw too many reasons not to show up for work.
There was still a pandemic going on outside, with models projecting tens of thousands more deaths to hit the U.S. in the coming weeks. Foy didn’t trust customers to observe social distancing guidelines. Her mother is immunocompromised and lives in hospice care. If Foy were serving lattes, she wouldn’t be comfortable visiting her mother even when she’s finally allowed to.
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The fact that she had another job to fall back on made it an easy call. Rather than take unpaid leave ― her only other option ― the barista told her boss she wouldn’t be coming back to work, ending her eight-year relationship with the coffee chain, a company she always saw as a decent employer with attractive perks.
“I wasn’t comfortable being pressured,” the 25-year-old said. “If everyone chooses to reopen so quickly and get back to normal when this is all very abnormal, I think we’ll have a surge in cases and this will all be for naught.”
As for Starbucks, “at the end of the day they are just a big business. They are a corporation and they are going to prioritize keeping the company going,” she said.
Starbucks workers around the country say they wish the coffee chain wasn’t opening its doors yet. Harry How via Getty Images
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Starbucks has kept some locations with drive-thrus open throughout the pandemic, and some employees have been working this whole time. But last week the chain reopened the vast majority of stores that were closed and asked employees to report to work. The company is taking new precautions like mobile ordering and contactless pickup to prevent spread of the virus, just as some states begin loosening their lockdown rules.
But HuffPost spoke with a dozen Starbucks workers around the country who wish the coffee chain wasn’t opening its doors yet, even in a limited capacity, while the COVID-19 body count continues to rise. Most of them spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation from management.
Several said Starbucks is a decent employer that’s done some good things for employees during the pandemic. The company has been more generous than a lot of other big chains. It paid workers who chose to stay home rather than work during April, and has offered a $3 an hour premium to those willing to continue clocking in through May, which is more than what many grocery workers received.
A delivery rider wearing a protective mask picks up an order from Starbucks on April 28 in New York City. Workers across the country are expected to head back to the stores as states reopen. Alexi Rosenfeld via Getty Images
With President Donald Trump pushing for economic activity to resume, against the advice of public-health experts, difficult decisions about whether and how to reopen for business have been left to companies like Starbucks.
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The anxieties of Starbucks employees reflect the hard choices workers at restaurants, fast-food chains and coffee shops across the U.S. are making as employers try to return to business as usual. Starbucks employees say the company has now put them in the same predicament facing any other service worker: Work onsite during a pandemic or lose your income.
“This can be said about any service industry professional now,” said Foy. “I think people don’t understand how much they’re really asking of us in the midst of a global pandemic.”
Reopening Isn’t Really A Necessity
Starbucks closed most stores in late March, after pressure from employees that included a popular petition on CoWorker.org. The company offered to replace workers’ typical wages with catastrophe pay ― a step few other chains seem to have taken, instead steering workers to unemployment benefits.
Last week the chain reopened more than 85% of stores nationwide, a move that coincided with the expiration of the social distancing guidelines the White House had previously recommended. The catastrophe pay would end for employees no longer willing to work after May 3, unless they were sick or met certain other criteria. Most workers would have to burn any paid time off they still had, apply for unpaid leave, or quit.
Reggie Borges, a Starbucks spokesperson, said despite the coronavirus, a lot of the company’s “partners,” as it calls baristas and other staff, are pumped to get back in stores.
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“The feedback that we have received from many of our partners this week has been an excitement to welcome back our customers and support the community,” Borges said. “Of course, we’re going to keep listening to them. We want to take their input. The priority for us is creating a safe and welcoming experience for everyone who comes to our stores.”
Only a small percentage of Starbucks locations have in-store pickup as an option, and none are allowing customers to lounge around. A majority are only offering drive-thru or outdoor pickup, where a barista places the order on a table that blocks the entryway. The company said it’s scheduling shifts in blocks to reduce contact among employees, so that one group of partners clocks in separately from another. Employees also said their stores have received hand sanitizer, masks and thermometers.
But there’s no question that even with modified operations, going to work is still a risk many would rather not face.
“The long hours of being exposed feeds into my anxiety,” said a manager at a cafe in upstate New York.
Max, a barista in Chicago who asked to use only their first name, said they had observed a strict lockdown and rarely left their apartment until the Starbucks reopening compelled a return to work. With catastrophe pay running out and no unemployment benefits to tap, Max had to find a way to pay June rent.
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Starbucks qualifies as an essential business because it provides food and beverages, just like other restaurants that have stayed open during the pandemic. That means Starbucks generally can operate in a limited capacity even where stay-at-home orders remain in place. But workers like Max don’t believe Starbucks’ core offering ― coffee ― is essential right now, especially when it can be bought at grocery stores.
“I don’t think Starbucks is providing something necessary to the community,” said Max. “Even though they’re saying they’re doing everything to protect and ensure the safety of their baristas, if they were doing everything they wouldn’t be open.”
Social Distancing Isn’t Possible
Starbucks calls its delivery method the “Entryway Handoff” ― workers place orders on the table, then step back and allow customers to pick up their frappuccinos and coffeecakes.
A 24-year-old worker from Connecticut, who went back to work this week, said customers don’t always grasp the concept.
“A lot of people try to take it out of my hand. So I end up touching most customers,” she said.
A Starbucks in southeast Washington, D.C. where customers can pick up drinks outside. Tape marks off where to stand so people are properly distanced. Arthur Delaney
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Those encounters illustrate how little control service workers have over patron behavior, and why many are leery of reopening while still in the middle of a pandemic. Starbucks says it has designated an employee to enforce social distancing measures at stores where customers are allowed inside, but even the drive-thru presents its own uncomfortable brushes, workers said.
Max estimates that only about half of drivers are wearing masks when they pull up to the window, even though the transaction requires payment and a handoff. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended people wear face coverings in public, and some localities require it. Starbucks has asked customers to wear them but won’t refuse service to those who don’t.
Some workers wish mask-wearing were required, but they’ve been told to avoid confrontations over the issue. (A McDonald’s customer in Oklahoma shot an employee after being told the dining area was closed.)
“Right now in Illinois you’re required to wear a facemask, but we were told Starbucks isn’t the police, so if someone’s not wearing a mask you can’t say anything. That was aggravating,” said Sarah, a 32-year-old woman who works at a Starbucks in a Chicago suburb and has decided not to go back to work.
Some workers complained about the quality of the masks Starbucks has provided them. They described the material as like a T-shirt, and insubstantial enough to get wet and weighed down from regular breathing. “I don’t think that’s safe enough,” said a 38-year-old supervisor in Atlanta who’s been with the company for more than a decade.
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Have you gone back to work or have you been called back and have concerns about it? We’d like to hear from you. Email us at scoops@huffpost.com.
And then there are questions of etiquette, which are not peculiar to Starbucks. A worker in Oklahoma said she noticed one customer not wearing a mask even though he had one on his dashboard.
Inside the store, it can be difficult to maintain distance between baristas. They’re in a confined space, bustling around to heat milk, pull espresso shots and grab pastries. And the block scheduling is not always perfect. One worker at a store in Chicago said the teams have maintained separation “but everyone interacts with the manager.”
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Another worker at a store in Virginia said someone who worked on her team one day last week had been on a different team the previous day.
“It seems like they’re trying to take reasonable precautions, but I know the most reasonable thing would be not opening,” the worker said.
Unemployment Is Not An Option
Congress has appropriated trillions of dollars to reduce the economic fallout from social distancing, funneling money to corporations and small businesses while also beefing up unemployment insurance specifically so that workers can stay home.
But the way the Trump administration and Republican governors have implemented the law, workers whose jobs ask them back actually can’t stay home. The administration has explicitly said avoiding work for fear of catching or spreading the coronavirus is not a legitimate reason to get unemployment insurance, and several states have asked businesses to report any employees who refuse to come back.
Starbucks has said partners who aren’t ready to return can apply for unpaid leave. Sarah, the barista from the Chicago suburbs, opted for leave because she has a second job working with high-risk elderly patients ― and didn’t feel like working at Starbucks was worth it.
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“When I was talking to my boss about my concerns, he kept saying, ‘It’s no riskier than going to the grocery store.’ But in my mind there’s a different feel to going to the grocery store to get food to live on versus serving people indulgent treats,” she said. “The balance of risk there is plain to see, and I’m not going to do it for someone who wants a frappuccino.”
Another worker, a 27-year-old woman in the Atlanta area, said she is “terrified” of returning because in the past employees have not been encouraged to stay home due to illness. “It’s not an environment where you can feel comfortable calling out of work when you’re sick,” she said, adding that she worked through a bout of pneumonia in February.
“The only reason I’m showing up to work right now is because I have to pay rent,” said a 22-year-old barista in Phoenix. “We’re getting $3 more an hour through the month. But COVID isn’t going away after this month.”
Even a relatively mild case of COVID-19 can be debilitating, and Starbucks knew some of its employees would just quit rather than risk it. Executive Vice President Rossann Williams wrote in an April letter to employees that “we must show our genuine empathy for those who need to make the personal decision to leave Starbucks.”
The letter really bothered Sarah, from Chicago, who believes staying home right now is more than simply a personal decision.
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“That just felt like a really premature thing to say when we’re still seeing cases rise and the only tool we have to mitigate this is staying away from people,” she said. “It’s a frustrating thing to hear from a company that tries to sell itself as being responsible or ethical.”
Foy, the former barista, said she understands Starbucks needs to get back to business at some point, also thinks it’s still too soon to reopen.
“I’m not an expert in business and finance. I’m sure this is difficult,” Foy said. “But at the end of the day I will always value people’s lives over the profits.”
Correction: This story originally said the $3 pay premium ended May 4. It will continue through the end of the month.


huffpost--2020-05-10--The Best Recipes, Apps And Other Hacks We Tried This Week

Enter this weekly guide .
Every Sunday , we ’ ll bring you a short list of products , routines , workouts , recipes , apps and other things we tried the previous week that are making life easier during this universally stressful time .
Take a look at this week ’ s suggestions from our editors below .
I ’ ve been sleeping on my couch since early March when lockdown started .
Weird , I know , but it felt cozier and safer in some way on my comfortable couch .
I ’ ve also been saving up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ put toward home improvements since I have so much more time here to look around and come up with projects .
This week I finally saved up enough for new bedding from Brooklinen ― and holy moly .
It ’ s beautiful , so comfortable , and feels like a hug getting into it .
Saving money for things has helped me curb some instant gratification tendencies and it felt really rewarding when I finally made the purchase .
My new 100x cozier bed is extremely helpful right now .
―Jamie Feldman , @ @ @ @

Enter this weekly guide. Every Sunday, we’ll bring you a short list of products, routines, workouts, recipes, apps and other things we tried the previous week that are making life easier during this universally stressful time.
Take a look at this week’s suggestions from our editors below.
Activity Recommendations
Set a short-term savings goal.
I’ve been sleeping on my couch since early March when lockdown started. Weird, I know, but it felt cozier and safer in some way on my comfortable couch. I’ve also been saving up a bit of money every paycheck to put toward home improvements since I have so much more time here to look around and come up with projects.
This week I finally saved up enough for new bedding from Brooklinen ― and holy moly. It’s beautiful, so comfortable, and feels like a hug getting into it. Saving money for things has helped me curb some instant gratification tendencies and it felt really rewarding when I finally made the purchase. My new 100x cozier bed is extremely helpful right now. ―Jamie Feldman, Lifestyle & Personal Reporter


huffpost--2020-05-03--The Best Shows To Watch On Netflix In May 2020

Premise : In this comedy , co-created by Steve Carell and Greg Daniels ( “ The Office , ” “ Parks and Recreation ” ) , a four-star general tries to establish another branch of the United States Armed Forces called the U.S. Space Force .
The general becomes chief of operations and moves his family to Colorado to establish a team at a working test site .
Over the last few days , critics have posted a flood of negative reviews about the show .
A particularly popular piece of criticism in Vulture had the title ” ‘ Space @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The show has only a 40 % rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 48 on Metacritic .
Will this make any end-of-year best-of-2020 lists ?
Probably not .
Is the experience of watching a comedic great like Carell deliver mostly lackluster , second-rate “ Veep ” -esque lines a bummer ?
Sure .
But is it still one of the best shows that Netflix released in May , especially this week , as Netflix didn ’ t add a single other scripted show ?
Yes .
Netflix highlights from earlier in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ A ridiculous sound effect of a wolf howling at the moon plays as the camera pans over a giant flower sculpture of a wolf looking to the sky .
Smoke or fog rises from the floor to enhance the scene .
In episodes that focus on different cases , “ Trial by Media ” shows how the court of public opinion can influence a jury , and relatedly , how much the court of public opinion is influenced by ratings and storytelling .
Premise : In this musical drama partially directed by Damien @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a struggling jazz club in Paris and manages a house band that his sometimes girlfriend fronts as the lead vocalist .
Stress escalates as the manager finds out his business partner has been dealing with shady characters that threaten both of them with violence .
The manager ’ s daughter comes to live with him , and he must figure out how to keep the club open and his familial circle safe .
Chazelle directs the first two episodes and is an executive producer on the whole series .
“ The Eddy ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ since the 2018 movie “ First Man.
” Chazelle became the youngest person to win the Academy Award for Best Director in 2017 for “ La La Land ” at the age of 32 .
How it starts : A man whisper-raps to himself in French .
I don ’ t speak French , but the subtitles translate the verses to : “ Hey , bro , you know what ?
/ Don ’ t listen to just anyone / Be careful what you do / Words are all that separate us.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hiding a secret .
The secret leads to another death that both of them have to reckon with at the start of the second season .
The camera reveals a theater with attendees in the seats .
The news clip starts on the screen with a voiceover that says in a singsong voice : “ Hollywood , California !
Tinseltown is boomtown !
” Bonus : Due to the COVID-19 pandemic , actors promoting projects have to do interviews over video-conferencing instead of the usual hype cycle .
Here ’ s Darren Criss @ @ @ @ @ @ @ may or may not be his home :

Aaron Epstein/Netflix John Malkovich and Steve Carell in "Space Force"
The new show on Netflix:
Premise: In this comedy, co-created by Steve Carell and Greg Daniels (“The Office,” “Parks and Recreation”), a four-star general tries to establish another branch of the United States Armed Forces called the U.S. Space Force. The general becomes chief of operations and moves his family to Colorado to establish a team at a working test site.
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The team is generally incompetent and disorganized, creating a workplace comedy vibe akin to Carell’s previous show, “The Office.”
Over the last few days, critics have posted a flood of negative reviews about the show. A particularly popular piece of criticism in Vulture had the title ”‘Space Force’ Is a Massive Misfire.” The show has only a 40% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 48 on Metacritic.
Will this make any end-of-year best-of-2020 lists? Probably not. Is the experience of watching a comedic great like Carell deliver mostly lackluster, second-rate “Veep”-esque lines a bummer? Sure. But is it still one of the best shows that Netflix released in May, especially this week, as Netflix didn’t add a single other scripted show? Yes.
Setting: Colorado
Netflix descriptors: “Deadpan”
Netflix The opening scene of "Space Force"
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How it starts: A hand pins a star on a general’s shoulder.
“Four-star general,” a voice says. “There is no rank higher in the United States military.” The camera pans out and circles the general’s back to show a room of people applauding the promotion.
Notable cast: Steve Carell, John Malkovich, Tawny Newsome, Ben Schwartz and Diana Silvers
Runtime: 10 episodes of roughly 35 minutes each
Bonus: Netflix made a strange video talking to Daniels and Carell’s castmates about what it’s like to work with Carell. As you can expect, they told Netflix they loved it.
Netflix highlights from earlier in the month:
Premise: In this competition show, amateurs attempt to make giant floral sculptures. The show draws its format from the popular “Great British Baking Show.”
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This flower show similarly has lovely, British hosts encouraging the competitors along to the pretty results.
Setting: Kent, England
Netflix descriptors: “Feel-good”
Netflix The opening shot from "The Big Flower Fight"
How it starts: A ridiculous sound effect of a wolf howling at the moon plays as the camera pans over a giant flower sculpture of a wolf looking to the sky. Smoke or fog rises from the floor to enhance the scene.
A montage of other flower sculptures follows, including a T. rex head, a Norse god and Rapunzel.
Runtime: Eight episodes of roughly 40 minutes each
Bonus: The trailer for “The Big Flower Fight” certainly has the same vibe as “The Great British Baking Show” trailer.
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Premise: In this mystery thriller created by Álex Pina (creator of “Money Heist”), a woman investigates the death of her brother, a semi-successful DJ in Ibiza, Spain.
The protagonist’s brother disappeared in the 1990s. The recent discovery of his mummified, desert-buried body inspires her to figure out what happened.
Through her search, she stumbles into the sex-, drugs- and money-fueled world of the Ibiza club scene.
Setting: Ibiza, Spain, in both contemporary times and the 1990s
Netflix descriptors: “Offbeat,” “forceful” and “suspenseful”
Netflix Laura Haddock plays Zoe in the opening scene of "White Lines."
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How it starts: The protagonist, Zoe, looks right into the camera, distraught. She appears to be in a hospital, with white tiled walls and overhead fluorescent lighting.
“I reckon I must have lived more in the last 24 hours than in the last 24 years,” she says to the camera.
Notable cast: Juan Diego Botto, Laura Haddock, Nuno Lopes and Marta Milans
Runtime: 10 episodes of roughly 55 minutes each
Bonus: The most recent season of “Money Heist” also recently debuted in the United States on April 3. Here’s the trailer for the latest season of that popular show:
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Premise: This docuseries, which has George Clooney and Jeffrey Toobin on board as executive producers, examines high-profile crimes about which the media had an outsized role in swaying public opinion.
In episodes that focus on different cases, “Trial by Media” shows how the court of public opinion can influence a jury, and relatedly, how much the court of public opinion is influenced by ratings and storytelling.
The series includes episodes on former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s impeachment and the 1999 killing of Amadou Diallo.
Netflix descriptors: “Provocative”
Netflix The opening scene of "Trial by Media" features a talk show host humiliating a guest.
How it starts: The first episode begins with a full screen of colorful static reminiscent of ’90s-era televisions.
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The camera shows a TV that’s playing an old video. The television screen features a talk show host humiliating a guest by revealing he only has one testicle. The crowd goes wild.
Runtime: Six episodes of roughly 60 minutes
Bonus: Here’s a CBS News segment from 2009 fittingly titled “Blago Throws Himself At Media” about Blagojevich’s impeachment.
Premise: In this musical drama partially directed by Damien Chazelle, an acclaimed jazz pianist runs a struggling jazz club in Paris and manages a house band that his sometimes girlfriend fronts as the lead vocalist. Stress escalates as the manager finds out his business partner has been dealing with shady characters that threaten both of them with violence. The manager’s daughter comes to live with him, and he must figure out how to keep the club open and his familial circle safe.
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Chazelle directs the first two episodes and is an executive producer on the whole series. “The Eddy” is Chazelle’s first directing project since the 2018 movie “First Man.” Chazelle became the youngest person to win the Academy Award for Best Director in 2017 for “La La Land” at the age of 32.
Setting: Paris
Netflix descriptors: “Intimate” and “emotional”
Netflix The opening scene of "The Eddy."
How it starts: A man whisper-raps to himself in French. I don’t speak French, but the subtitles translate the verses to: “Hey, bro, you know what? / Don’t listen to just anyone / Be careful what you do / Words are all that separate us.”
(Most of “The Eddy” takes place in English, but there’s also moments in French and Arabic.)
After repeating himself a few times, the man turns to an ice machine and shovels ice into a bucket. He opens a door, and a vibrant jazz club is on the other side.
Notable cast: André Holland, Joanna Kulig, Amandla Stenberg and Tahar Rahim
Runtime: Eight episodes of roughly 55 minutes
Bonus: Netflix put together a short feature focused on the jazz of the show:
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Premise: In this black comedy, two women, Jen and Judy, meet through a grief support group. Jen lost her husband in a hit-and-run. Judy says she lost her fiancé due to a heart attack.
A friendship blossoms, but Judy is hiding a secret. The secret leads to another death that both of them have to reckon with at the start of the second season.
Setting: Los Angeles, California
Netflix descriptors: “Offbeat,” “witty” and “intimate”
Netflix Christina Applegate in "Dead to Me"
How it starts: “The fuck am I doing?” Jen says, while a black screen shows the words “Netflix Original.” There’s a sound effect of water ripples and a creaking metal hinge.
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“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Jen says. “Oh, my god.”
The show cuts away from black to Jen making toast in the kitchen. Jen burnt the toast to black.
Notable cast: Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini
Runtime: The second season runs 10 episodes of roughly 32 minutes
Bonus: Here’s Applegate and Cardellini speaking together about the show:
Premise: In this period drama co-created by Ryan Murphy, young actors and filmmakers work together to try and make it during the “Golden Age” of Hollywood. Each striver has a different entrenched power to overcome, such as biases related to race and sexuality.
Like Ryan Murphy’s past projects (“The Politician,” the “American Horror Story” series), the show relies heavily on fantastic set pieces. The grandeur of the period suits Murphy’s more-is-better style.
Setting: 1940s Hollywood, California
Netflix Descriptors: “Emotional”
Netflix The opening of "Hollywood"
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How it starts: A projector shines the words “News of the Day” onto red curtains that pull away to reveal a movie screen.
The camera reveals a theater with attendees in the seats. The news clip starts on the screen with a voiceover that says in a singsong voice: “Hollywood, California! Tinseltown is boomtown!”
Notable cast: David Corenswet, Darren Criss, Laura Harrier, Patti LuPone, Dylan McDermott and Jim Parsons
Runtime: Seven episodes of roughly 50 minutes
Bonus: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, actors promoting projects have to do interviews over video-conferencing instead of the usual hype cycle. Here’s Darren Criss talking about “Hollywood” from what may or may not be his home:
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For more options, check out the best Netflix shows of April.