huffpost--2020-03-24--LGBTQ Homeless Fear Violence, Illness As Coronavirus Shuts Shelters

NEW YORK , March 23 ( Thomson Reuters Foundation ) - The corona virus is causing the closure of homeless centers across the United States , putting LGBT+ people without housing at increased risk of suicide , health complications or hate crimes , according to homelessness experts .
Homeless centers said they have been forced to shut their doors in order to follow safety precautions over social distancing as enforced by international governments and health organizations .
There are about 10,000 shelters for homeless people in the United States with an estimated 250 LGBT+ centers , largely in metropolitan areas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Homeless , a network of homelessness advocates .
“ The fact they won ’ t be available , on top of not having safe spaces to go to , is going to end up pushing the limits of a lot of LGBT homeless youths ’ health , ” Smith , 18 , told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone .
“ When things like this happens , it could really take our lives , ” added Smith , who has been in a homeless-at-risk program for LGBT+ youth since last September .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ homeless people , according to a 2019 report by the Council of Economic Advisers , an agency within the Executive Office of the President of theUnited States .
There is little data on rates of LGBT+ homelessness but a 2017 study by the University of Chicago found young LGBT+ adults had a 120 % higher risk of being homeless compared to youth who identified as heterosexual .
Osimiri Sprowal , 22 , from Philadelphia , who was homeless on-and-off for about a year and a half until last October , said the government @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not mingle could put more LGBT+ onto the streets as many gay and trans people survived by couch surfing with friends .
“ If you ’ re worried about getting sick and being around people , you ’ re not going to want people to stay at your house , ” Sprowal told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a phone interview .
MaDonna Land , program director of Tony ’ s Place , an LGBT+ homeless drop-in center in Houston , Texas , which has temporarily closed , voiced concerns that the pandemic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sexual assaults on LGBT+ homeless .
“ With a situation like this , where the police are scarce and supply is scarce , that increases their vulnerability because there ’ s no one checking , ” said Land .
Campaigners said services for homeless LGBT+ people would also suffer as options for shelter dwindled , and this could impact access to essential medication , such as HIV treatment .
“ A third of our clients have HIV , ” said Kate Barnhart , the executive director of New Alternatives , a New York-based @ @ @ @ @ @ @ far .
In neighboring Mexico , where homophobia remains widespread despite recent advances on LGBT+ rights , advocates say they ’ ve seen a spike in the number of gay and trans youth forced out of home as well .
Alex Orue , executive director of LGBT+ youth suicide prevention campaign It Gets Better Mexico , said he has received 15 cases in the last two weeks of lesbian , gay , bi or trans youth being kicked out onto the streets .
“ It ’ s not that there are new problems @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s that this pandemic has come to throw gasoline on the crises we already had , ” said Orue .
“ For any young person , but in particular a young LGBT+ person , the risks that come with being out on the street are multiplied .
”

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NEW YORK, March 23 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The corona virus is causing the closure of homeless centers across the United States, putting LGBT+ people without housing at increased risk of suicide, health complications or hate crimes, according to homelessness experts.
Homeless centers said they have been forced to shut their doors in order to follow safety precautions over social distancing as enforced by international governments and health organizations.
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There are about 10,000 shelters for homeless people in the United States with an estimated 250 LGBT+ centers, largely in metropolitan areas, according to The National Coalition for the Homeless, a network of homelessness advocates.
There are currently no estimates on the exact number of shelters closed in recent weeks due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Liyanni Smith, who is in a program for at-risk LGBT+ homeless youth in Philadelphia, said the closures would have a devastating impact.
“The fact they won’t be available, on top of not having safe spaces to go to, is going to end up pushing the limits of a lot of LGBT homeless youths’ health,” Smith, 18, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone.
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“When things like this happens, it could really take our lives,” added Smith, who has been in a homeless-at-risk program for LGBT+ youth since last September.
The United States has an estimated 552,830 homeless people, according to a 2019 report by the Council of Economic Advisers, an agency within the Executive Office of the President of theUnited States.
There is little data on rates of LGBT+ homelessness but a 2017 study by the University of Chicago found young LGBT+ adults had a 120% higher risk of being homeless compared to youth who identified as heterosexual.
THROWN OUT ONTO THE STREET
Osimiri Sprowal, 22, from Philadelphia, who was homeless on-and-off for about a year and a half until last October, said the government’s advice to self isolate and not mingle could put more LGBT+ onto the streets as many gay and trans people survived by couch surfing with friends.
“If you’re worried about getting sick and being around people, you’re not going to want people to stay at your house,” Sprowal told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a phone interview.
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“My heart’s breaking - it’s devastating. LGBT people are going to be on the streets.”
MaDonna Land, program director of Tony’s Place, an LGBT+ homeless drop-in center in Houston, Texas, which has temporarily closed, voiced concerns that the pandemic will exacerbate the risk of physical and sexual assaults on LGBT+ homeless.
Nearly one-fifth of 7,120 hate crime incidents in the United States reported in 2018 stemmed from LGBT+ bias, according to the FBI’s latest Hate Crime Statistics report.
“With a situation like this, where the police are scarce and supply is scarce, that increases their vulnerability because there’s no one checking,” said Land.
Campaigners said services for homeless LGBT+ people would also suffer as options for shelter dwindled, and this could impact access to essential medication, such as HIV treatment.
“A third of our clients have HIV,” said Kate Barnhart, the executive director of New Alternatives, a New York-based LGBT+drop-in center that has remained open so far.
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“If they don’t get this, I don’t know what will happen.”
In neighboring Mexico, where homophobia remains widespread despite recent advances on LGBT+ rights, advocates say they’ve seen a spike in the number of gay and trans youth forced out of home as well.
Alex Orue, executive director of LGBT+ youth suicide prevention campaign It Gets Better Mexico, said he has received 15 cases in the last two weeks of lesbian, gay, bi or trans youth being kicked out onto the streets.
“It’s not that there are new problems emerging (in Mexico) - it’s that this pandemic has come to throw gasoline on the crises we already had,” said Orue.
“For any young person, but in particular a young LGBT+ person, the risks that come with being out on the street are multiplied.”
Some LGBT+ homeless centers in the U.S. have started to move some services online, including case management, educational and career support and behavioral counseling.
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Sherilyn Adams, executive director of Larkin Street Youth Services in San Francisco, a nonprofit that offers housing programs for LGBT+ homeless youth, said homeless LGBT youth would struggle in social isolation or loss of a community.
“Places to gather, places to see peers are important - especially for young people. We want those things to sustain or come back, whenever that can happen safely,” said Adams.
(Reporting by Matthew Lavietes in New York and Oscar Lopez in Mexico City; Editing by Belinda GoldsmithPlease credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers the lives of people around the world who struggle to live freely or fairly. Visit http://news.trust.org)


huffpost--2020-04-28--Trump Says Virus Testing 'Not A Problem,' But Doubts Persist

Monday ’ s developments were meant to fill critical gaps in White House plans to begin easing restrictions , ramping up testing for the virus while shifting the president ’ s focus toward recovery from the economic collapse caused by the outbreak .
The administration unveiled a “ blueprint ” for states to scale up their testing in the coming week — a tacit admission , despite public statements to the contrary , that testing capacity and availability over the past two months have been lacking .
The new testing targets would ensure states had enough COVID-19 tests available to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ populations each month — a figure already met by a majority of states .
Areas that have been harder hit by the virus would be able to test at double that rate , or higher , the White House said .
The initial COVID-19 test developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was contaminated , and early kits operated only on platforms able to perform a small number of tests per day .
While the rate of testing increased as tests developed for higher-capacity platforms , they were still limited by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the reagents used to process the samples .
Administration officials maintained Monday that the limiting factor now is actually the availability of samples from people who have been tested — either because guidelines on who could be tested are too stringent or because there are not enough health workers able to take nasal swab samples from them .
The CDC moved to address one of those concerns Monday , expanding the list of people to be prioritized for virus testing to include those who show no symptoms but are in high-risk settings @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with leaders of businesses including CVS , Walmart and Kroger , who said they were working to expand access to tests across the country .
Researchers at Harvard have estimated the country needs to be testing a minimum of 500,000 people per day , and possibly many more .
Konyndyk said the aim should be 2 million to 3 million per day .
Trump said the current total , up sharply in recent days , is over 200,000 per day .
Konyndyk said : “ Over the past month , we ’ ve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ really generous tripled the testing capacity in this country .
We need to take where we are now and expand it tenfold.
” The testing blueprint for states provides details missing from the administration ’ s guidelines for them to return to normal operations , which were released more than a week ago .
It includes a focus on surveillance testing as well as “ rapid response ” programs to isolate those who test positive and identify those with whom they had come in contact .
The administration aims to have the market @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fall , when COVID-19 is expected to recur alongside the seasonal flu .
Days after he set off a firestorm by publicly musing that scientists should explore the injection of toxic disinfectants as a potential virus cure , Trump said he found little use for his daily task force briefings , where he has time and again clashed with medical experts and reporters .
Trump ’ s aides had been trying to move the president onto more familiar and , they hope , safer , ground : talking up the economy in more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hoped that virus deaths would end up no more than 60,000 to 70,000 , slightly revising upward his public estimate of recent days as the U.S. toll neared 56,000 on nearly 1 million cases .
Still , he claimed a victory given dire , tenfold-higher predictions if the U.S. hadn ’ t adopted restrictive social distancing measures .
Meanwhile , the CDC was beginning to release more detailed guidelines on reopening schools , restaurants and other establishments .
Draft guidelines sent by the CDC to Washington include a long list of recommendations for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ such as closing break rooms at offices , spacing desks six feet apart at schools and using disposable plates and menus at restaurants .
The draft guidance was obtained by The Associated Press from a federal official who was not authorized to release it .
Some states have started to ease closure orders , and Trump is expected to spend coming days highlighting his administration ’ s efforts to help businesses and employees .
Aides said the president would hold more frequent roundtables with CEOs , business owners and beneficiaries of the trillions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by Congress , and begin to outline what he hopes to see in an additional recovery package .

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House released new guidelines Monday aimed at answering criticism that America’s coronavirus testing has been too slow, and President Donald Trump tried to pivot toward a focus on “reopening” the nation.
Still, there were doubts from public health experts that the White House’s new testing targets were sufficient.
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Monday’s developments were meant to fill critical gaps in White House plans to begin easing restrictions, ramping up testing for the virus while shifting the president’s focus toward recovery from the economic collapse caused by the outbreak. The administration unveiled a “blueprint” for states to scale up their testing in the coming week — a tacit admission, despite public statements to the contrary, that testing capacity and availability over the past two months have been lacking.
The new testing targets would ensure states had enough COVID-19 tests available to sample at least 2.6% of their populations each month — a figure already met by a majority of states. Areas that have been harder hit by the virus would be able to test at double that rate, or higher, the White House said.
The testing issue has bedeviled the administration for months. Trump told reporters on March 6 during a visit to the CDC in Atlanta that “anybody that wants a test can get a test,” but the reality has proved to be vastly different.
The initial COVID-19 test developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was contaminated, and early kits operated only on platforms able to perform a small number of tests per day. While the rate of testing increased as tests developed for higher-capacity platforms, they were still limited by shortages of supplies, from nasal swabs to the reagents used to process the samples.
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Administration officials maintained Monday that the limiting factor now is actually the availability of samples from people who have been tested — either because guidelines on who could be tested are too stringent or because there are not enough health workers able to take nasal swab samples from them.
The CDC moved to address one of those concerns Monday, expanding the list of people to be prioritized for virus testing to include those who show no symptoms but are in high-risk settings like nursing homes. And Trump met with leaders of businesses including CVS, Walmart and Kroger, who said they were working to expand access to tests across the country.
“Testing is not going to be a problem at all,” Trump said later in the Rose Garden.
However, many of the administration’s past pledges and goals on testing have not been met.
Jeremy Konyndyk, a disaster preparedness expert who helped lead the Obama administration response to Ebola, said the administration’s testing plans are well short of what is needed.
Researchers at Harvard have estimated the country needs to be testing a minimum of 500,000 people per day, and possibly many more. Konyndyk said the aim should be 2 million to 3 million per day. Trump said the current total, up sharply in recent days, is over 200,000 per day.
Konyndyk said: “Over the past month, we’ve doubled or if you want to be really generous tripled the testing capacity in this country. We need to take where we are now and expand it tenfold.”
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The testing blueprint for states provides details missing from the administration’s guidelines for them to return to normal operations, which were released more than a week ago. It includes a focus on surveillance testing as well as “rapid response” programs to isolate those who test positive and identify those with whom they had come in contact. The administration aims to have the market “flooded” with tests for the fall, when COVID-19 is expected to recur alongside the seasonal flu.
Trump and administration medical experts outlined the plan on a call with governors Monday afternoon, before unveiling them publicly in a Rose Garden press conference.
The White House announcements came as Trump sought to regain his footing after weeks of criticism and detours created in part by his press briefings.
Days after he set off a firestorm by publicly musing that scientists should explore the injection of toxic disinfectants as a potential virus cure, Trump said he found little use for his daily task force briefings, where he has time and again clashed with medical experts and reporters. Trump’s aides had been trying to move the president onto more familiar and, they hope, safer, ground: talking up the economy in more tightly controlled settings.
Republican Party polling shows Trump’s path to a second term depends on the public’s perception of how quickly the economy rebounds from the state-by-state shutdowns meant to slow the spread of the virus.
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On Monday, the White House initially announced there would be a Trump briefing, but canceled it as Trump’s greatest asset in the reelection campaign — his ability to dominate headlines with freewheeling performances — was increasingly seen as a liability.
But hours later, it became clear Trump had other ideas. He held court in the Rose Garden for a bit less than an hour.
Spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany said briefings would be held later in the week but “they might have a new look to them, a new focus to them.”
Trump said he hoped that virus deaths would end up no more than 60,000 to 70,000, slightly revising upward his public estimate of recent days as the U.S. toll neared 56,000 on nearly 1 million cases. Still, he claimed a victory given dire, tenfold-higher predictions if the U.S. hadn’t adopted restrictive social distancing measures.
On his conference call with governors, Trump suggested that many states should consider reopening schools before the end of the academic year, easing the way for parents to go back to work.
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“Some of you might start thinking about school openings because a lot of people are wanting to have the school openings,” Trump told the governors. The Associated Press obtained an audio recording of the call.
Meanwhile, the CDC was beginning to release more detailed guidelines on reopening schools, restaurants and other establishments. Draft guidelines sent by the CDC to Washington include a long list of recommendations for organizations as they begin to reopen, such as closing break rooms at offices, spacing desks six feet apart at schools and using disposable plates and menus at restaurants. The draft guidance was obtained by The Associated Press from a federal official who was not authorized to release it.
Some states have started to ease closure orders, and Trump is expected to spend coming days highlighting his administration’s efforts to help businesses and employees. Aides said the president would hold more frequent roundtables with CEOs, business owners and beneficiaries of the trillions of dollars in federal aid already approved by Congress, and begin to outline what he hopes to see in an additional recovery package.
Trump last left the White House complex a month ago, and plans are being drawn up for a limited schedule of travel within the next few weeks, aides said. It would be a symbolic show that the nation is beginning to reopen.
The shift toward the economy comes in conjunction with what the White House sees as encouraging signs across the country, with the pace of new infections stabilizing and deaths declining.
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Still, medical experts warn that the virus will continue to haunt the country at least until a vaccine is developed. And they say the risk of a severe second wave is high if social distancing measures are relaxed too quickly or if testing and contact tracing schemes aren’t developed before people return to normal behaviors.
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huffpost--2020-04-28--Wisconsin Election Winner Lashes 'Unconscionable' GOP For Forcing Vote

A Democrat who won a hotly contested Wisconsin state Supreme Court judgeship called her election victory “ bittersweet ” because of rising COVID-19 cases linked to in-person voting forced by state Republicans .
“ I find it unconscionable that Wisconsin voters were forced to choose between their safety and having their voices heard in our democracy , ” wrote Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice-elect Jill Karofsky in an op-ed in The New York Times Monday .
The GOP won court battles to scuttle Gov .
Tony Evers ’ bid for more time for mail-in ballots so people wouldn ’ t have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Forty new cases of COVID-19 in Milwaukee County alone have now been linked to the April 7 election .
She noted that Wisconsin judges backing the Republicans all voted early , so they personally risked nothing , even as they sent other voters into danger .
To protect themselves , the judges didn ’ t meet face to face to hear the case .
Yet citizens , in order to exercise their right to vote , had to endure hours on lines where they risked contagion , Karofsky pointed out .
“ The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ American creed , ” Karofsky wrote .
“ Courts making partisan decisions , sending people out to vote in the middle of a global pandemic , is exactly what ’ s wrong with a judiciary that has become too political.
” She said she believes the GOP battle was a “ deliberate attempt to suppress the vote in Wisconsin.
” It was “ unacceptable to hold an election under circumstances in which people were forced to choose between their safety and voting , ” Karofsky declared .
“ It disenfranchised countless people and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our democracy.
” Do you have information you want to share with HuffPost ?
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A Democrat who won a hotly contested Wisconsin state Supreme Court judgeship called her election victory “bittersweet” because of rising COVID-19 cases linked to in-person voting forced by state Republicans.
“I find it unconscionable that Wisconsin voters were forced to choose between their safety and having their voices heard in our democracy,” wrote Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice-elect Jill Karofsky in an op-ed in The New York Times Monday.
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The GOP won court battles to scuttle Gov. Tony Evers’ bid for more time for mail-in ballots so people wouldn’t have to risk COVID-19 contagion to vote. Forty new cases of COVID-19 in Milwaukee County alone have now been linked to the April 7 election.
She noted that Wisconsin judges backing the Republicans all voted early, so they personally risked nothing, even as they sent other voters into danger. To protect themselves, the judges didn’t meet face to face to hear the case. Yet citizens, in order to exercise their right to vote, had to endure hours on lines where they risked contagion, Karofsky pointed out.
“The right to vote is fundamental to the American creed,” Karofsky wrote. “Courts making partisan decisions, sending people out to vote in the middle of a global pandemic, is exactly what’s wrong with a judiciary that has become too political.”
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She said she believes the GOP battle was a “deliberate attempt to suppress the vote in Wisconsin.”
It was “unacceptable to hold an election under circumstances in which people were forced to choose between their safety and voting,” Karofsky declared. “It disenfranchised countless people and raised serious concerns for the future of our democracy.” “It can never happen again.” Check out Karofsky’s op-ed here.


huffpost--2020-04-17--Senators Fear Black Americans In Face Masks Will Be Exposed To Racial Bias

NEW YORK ( AP ) — Democratic lawmakers want police departments to be vigilant about any racially biased policing during the coronavirus pandemic , as people in communities of color express fears of being profiled while wearing masks or other face coverings in public .
In a letter sent Friday to Attorney General William Barr and FBI Director Christopher Wray , Sen. Kamala Harris of California and other Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee urged federal law enforcement agencies to provide anti-bias training and guidance to police officers .
The officers may increasingly encounter masked residents as the nation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the coming weeks , the senators said .
“ With the ongoing public health emergency , it is more important than ever for law enforcement to build trust with communities of color , ” the senators said in the letter , which was first shared with The Associated Press .
Earlier this month , the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that people who go out in public wear a surgical mask or a cloth covering their nose and mouth to prevent the spread of the virus .
And already , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ racial profiling while following the recommendations .
“ If communities of color — especially African American communities — feel at risk of disproportionate or selective enforcement , they may avoid seeking help or adopting precautionary measures recommended by the CDC , ” the letter reads .
“ This , in turn , could have dire public health consequences.
” The toll of COVID-19 on African Americans has been disproportionate , preliminary public health records show .
The latest AP analysis of available state and local data shows that nearly one-third of those who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ caused by the coronavirus , are black .
Since the CDC issued its recommendations on April 3 , several states , including New York , New Jersey and California , began requiring people to wear masks when riding public transportation , visiting grocery stores and pharmacies , or in other spaces where it is difficult to be socially distant .
Less than one week after the CDC ’ s mask recommendations , two black men in surgical masks recorded themselves being followed by a police officer as they left a Walmart in Wood @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , an African American doctor who wore a mask as he volunteered to test homeless people for COVID-19 was handcuffed and detained by police outside his home in Miami , Florida .
Black men also are reportedly being harassed for not wearing face coverings .
A day after the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority began requiring customers to wear facial coverings on buses and trains , an African American man without a mask was seen on video being forcibly dragged from a bus by Philadelphia transit officers .
Jim Pasco , executive director of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a union of more than 330,000 members , pushed back on the senators ’ request .
He said the vast majority of the nation ’ s police officers already receive anti-bias training .
“ In the circumstances we currently find ourselves in , I find it troubling that anyone is asking the nation ’ s already overworked officers to take time out of their work for training , based on a few allegations of improper conduct , ” Pasco said in a phone interview .
“ This seems like political opportunism , at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Systemic racism and discrimination in law enforcement isn ’ t a new issue .
However , various studies of criminal justice data show that African Americans are more likely than whites to be pulled over by police , and are as much as three times more likely to be searched .
They have also been arrested and shot by officers at twice the rate of whites .
In the email , Harris , who is black , said the onus can not be on black men to ensure that taking precautions against @ @ @ @ @ @ @ make them vulnerable to biased policing .
“ We need to place more responsibility on the system , particularly in this moment , ” she said .
“ During this crisis , it is more important than ever for law enforcement to prioritize building relationships of trust with the communities they serve .
”

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NEW YORK (AP) — Democratic lawmakers want police departments to be vigilant about any racially biased policing during the coronavirus pandemic, as people in communities of color express fears of being profiled while wearing masks or other face coverings in public.
In a letter sent Friday to Attorney General William Barr and FBI Director Christopher Wray, Sen. Kamala Harris of California and other Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee urged federal law enforcement agencies to provide anti-bias training and guidance to police officers. The officers may increasingly encounter masked residents as the nation weighs a gradual reopening of the economy in the coming weeks, the senators said.
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“With the ongoing public health emergency, it is more important than ever for law enforcement to build trust with communities of color,” the senators said in the letter, which was first shared with The Associated Press.
Earlier this month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that people who go out in public wear a surgical mask or a cloth covering their nose and mouth to prevent the spread of the virus. And already, some black men have reported incidents of racial profiling while following the recommendations.
“If communities of color — especially African American communities — feel at risk of disproportionate or selective enforcement, they may avoid seeking help or adopting precautionary measures recommended by the CDC,” the letter reads. “This, in turn, could have dire public health consequences.”
The toll of COVID-19 on African Americans has been disproportionate, preliminary public health records show. The latest AP analysis of available state and local data shows that nearly one-third of those who have died from COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, are black.
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African Americans are roughly 14% of the population in the areas included in the analysis.
Since the CDC issued its recommendations on April 3, several states, including New York, New Jersey and California, began requiring people to wear masks when riding public transportation, visiting grocery stores and pharmacies, or in other spaces where it is difficult to be socially distant.
Less than one week after the CDC’s mask recommendations, two black men in surgical masks recorded themselves being followed by a police officer as they left a Walmart in Wood River, Illinois. In another incident, an African American doctor who wore a mask as he volunteered to test homeless people for COVID-19 was handcuffed and detained by police outside his home in Miami, Florida.
Black men also are reportedly being harassed for not wearing face coverings. A day after the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority began requiring customers to wear facial coverings on buses and trains, an African American man without a mask was seen on video being forcibly dragged from a bus by Philadelphia transit officers.
These incidents suggest mask requirements “could expose Black Americans to unfair and dangerous treatment from law enforcement,” Harris, a former prosecutor, said in an email to the AP.
“We can’t let this become a bigger problem,” she said.
Jim Pasco, executive director of the National Fraternal Order of Police, a union of more than 330,000 members, pushed back on the senators’ request. He said the vast majority of the nation’s police officers already receive anti-bias training.
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“In the circumstances we currently find ourselves in, I find it troubling that anyone is asking the nation’s already overworked officers to take time out of their work for training, based on a few allegations of improper conduct,” Pasco said in a phone interview. “This seems like political opportunism, at the least opportunistic time for the country.”
The FBI asked for more time to respond to a request for comment.
Systemic racism and discrimination in law enforcement isn’t a new issue. However, various studies of criminal justice data show that African Americans are more likely than whites to be pulled over by police, and are as much as three times more likely to be searched. They have also been arrested and shot by officers at twice the rate of whites.
In the email, Harris, who is black, said the onus cannot be on black men to ensure that taking precautions against the virus outbreak doesn’t also make them vulnerable to biased policing.
“We need to place more responsibility on the system, particularly in this moment,” she said. “During this crisis, it is more important than ever for law enforcement to prioritize building relationships of trust with the communities they serve.”
The letter to the Justice Department and FBI was also signed by Democratic Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Dick Durbin of Illinois, Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and Ben Cardin of Maryland.
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huffpost--2020-04-28--Amazon May Have Acted Illegally In Firing Of Warehouse Worker, New York AG Says

Amazon may have broken New York ’ s whistleblower law when it fired one of its warehouse workers who ’ d protested the company ’ s response to the COVID-19 pandemic , according to state Attorney General Letitia James .
In a letter last week to the e-commerce giant obtained by NPR and The New York Times , James said her office was probing Amazon ’ s firing of Christian Smalls , who helped organize a walkout at the company ’ s Staten Island warehouse last month .
The protesters had demanded the facility be temporarily closed and sanitized following @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one worker there .
Smalls said at the time that Amazon had not done enough to protect its workers from the virus .
Amazon claimed it had fired Smalls for “ violating social distancing guidelines , ” and for flouting a company quarantine order when he attended the protest .
James said , however , that a preliminary investigation into the company ’ s actions “ raise serious concern that Amazon may have discharged [ Smalls ] in order to silence his complaints and send a threatening message to other employees that they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and safety concerns , ” NPR reported .
In her letter , James also raised concerns that Amazon had provided “ inadequate ” protections to employees amid the ongoing pandemic — in possible violation of federal and state worker safety laws .
Amazon has yet to respond publicly to the letter , but said in a statement to NPR that while it respects workers ’ rights to demonstrate , “ these rights do not provide blanket immunity against bad actions , particularly those that endanger the health , well-being or safety of their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the measures that Amazon has introduced to ensure workers ’ health and safety during the pandemic including “ masks , temperature checks , hand sanitizer , social distancing measures , increased time off , increased pay , and more.
” Earlier this month , a group of Democratic senators including former presidential contenders Cory Booker of New Jersey and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York wrote a letter to the company expressing concern about the motivations behind Smalls ’ dismissal .
In their letter , the senators said they were particularly disturbed by a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ intention of Amazon ’ s top brass to launch a smear campaign against Smalls .
“ He ’ s not smart , or articulate , and to the extent the press wants to focus on us versus him , we will be in a much stronger PR position than simply explaining for the umpteenth time how we ’ re trying to protect workers , ” Amazon General Counsel David Zapolsky said of Smalls , according to the memo .
Zapolsky later apologized for the remarks , and said he ’ d “ let @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the better of me .
”

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Amazon may have broken New York’s whistleblower law when it fired one of its warehouse workers who’d protested the company’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to state Attorney General Letitia James.
In a letter last week to the e-commerce giant obtained by NPR and The New York Times, James said her office was probing Amazon’s firing of Christian Smalls, who helped organize a walkout at the company’s Staten Island warehouse last month. The protesters had demanded the facility be temporarily closed and sanitized following the positive coronavirus diagnosis for at least one worker there. Smalls said at the time that Amazon had not done enough to protect its workers from the virus.
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Amazon claimed it had fired Smalls for “violating social distancing guidelines,” and for flouting a company quarantine order when he attended the protest.
James said, however, that a preliminary investigation into the company’s actions “raise serious concern that Amazon may have discharged [Smalls] in order to silence his complaints and send a threatening message to other employees that they should also keep quiet about any health and safety concerns,” NPR reported.
The attorney general said she was also investigating “other cases of potential illegal retaliation” by Amazon.
The New York attorney general's office says Amazon's coronavirus health and safety measures are "so inadequate that they may violate several provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Act."https://t.co/BkyFyFjvdw — NPR (@NPR) April 28, 2020
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In her letter, James also raised concerns that Amazon had provided “inadequate” protections to employees amid the ongoing pandemic — in possible violation of federal and state worker safety laws.
Amazon has yet to respond publicly to the letter, but said in a statement to NPR that while it respects workers’ rights to demonstrate, “these rights do not provide blanket immunity against bad actions, particularly those that endanger the health, well-being or safety of their colleagues.”
A spokeswoman also pointed to the measures that Amazon has introduced to ensure workers’ health and safety during the pandemic including “masks, temperature checks, hand sanitizer, social distancing measures, increased time off, increased pay, and more.”
Amazon’s decision to fire Smalls following the protest has been heavily scrutinized.
Earlier this month, a group of Democratic senators including former presidential contenders Cory Booker of New Jersey and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York wrote a letter to the company expressing concern about the motivations behind Smalls’ dismissal.
In their letter, the senators said they were particularly disturbed by a leaked internal memo that revealed the apparent intention of Amazon’s top brass to launch a smear campaign against Smalls.
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“He’s not smart, or articulate, and to the extent the press wants to focus on us versus him, we will be in a much stronger PR position than simply explaining for the umpteenth time how we’re trying to protect workers,” Amazon General Counsel David Zapolsky said of Smalls, according to the memo.


huffpost--2020-06-22--Virus Cases Surge In U.S., India, But Slow In China, Korea

After easing the nationwide lockdown , the Indian government has run special trains to return thousands of migrant workers to their natal villages in recent weeks .
Nearly 90 % of India ’ s poorest districts have cases , though the outbreak remains centered in Delhi , Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu states , which are home to major cities .
Infections slowed in China and South Korea , suggesting some progress in stemming their newest outbreaks .
But despite clear headway in containing the virus in regions that suffered early outbreaks , globally the number of new virus cases has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Iraq , India and the United States , hospitals are scrambling to cope .
Nearly 9 million people have been infected by the new coronavirus and more than 468,000 people have died , according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University .
Experts say the actual numbers are much higher , given limits to testing and the presumed large share of asymptomatic cases .
In a grim reminder of the pandemic ’ s ubiquitous reach , Philippine officials said Saudi Arabia ’ s king had asked that the remains of 282 Filipino @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the oil-rich kingdom be repatriated within three days .
They died of varied causes , but virus restrictions delayed repatriations .
The Philippines has reported more than 30,000 infections and 1,169 deaths , among the highest in Southeast Asia .
It is struggling to help bring home tens of thousands of Filipinos who have lost their work abroad .
In Pakistan , infections are accelerating and hospitals are having to turn away patients , with new cases up to 6,800 a day in mid-June .
The government has relaxed pandemic restrictions , hoping @ @ @ @ @ @ @ number of people living in poverty has risen to 40 % , up from 30 % of the population of 220 million people .
Late Sunday , the World Health Organization reported the largest single-day increase in coronavirus cases by its count , at more than 183,000 new cases in the latest 24 hours .
Brazil tallied 54,771 and the U.S. was next at 36,617 , the UN health agency said .
India reported more than 15,400 .
The recent outbreak has been centered around Seoul , the capital , where the mayor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reimposed if the daily new cases don ’ t fall below an average of 30 in the next three days .
“ If Seoul gets penetrated ( by the virus ) , the entire Republic of Korea gets penetrated , ” Mayor Park Won-soon said , using the country ’ s formal name .
He said the basic reproduction number of virus carriers , or number of infections caused by an individual , rose to nearly 1.8 between April 30 and June 11 .
Any number above 1 indicates a growing epidemic .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ 16 new cases of the coronavirus as it tries to bring an outbreak there under control .
The number of cases there is the highest in two months , accounting for more than 80 % of Australia ’ s new cases over the past week .
In the United States , experts say the resurgence in infections there is not a so-called “ second wave ” but a continuation of the first wave of outbreaks as the number of cases plateaus .
In New York City , the worst affected area so far @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s spread through contact tracing are being hampered by the reluctance of many people to provide information to tracers .
The New York Times reported only 35 % of the 5,347 city residents who tested positive or were presumed positive for COVID-19 in the first two weeks of the contact tracing program gave information about their close contacts .
The city will hit a turning point Monday : allowing New Yorkers to dine out for the first time in three months , though only at outdoor tables .
Shoppers can browse , shaggy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ monkey bars , instead of their apartment walls .

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NEW DELHI (AP) — The world saw the largest daily increases yet in coronavirus cases, with infections soaring in India’s rural villages after migrant workers fled major cities.
India’s coronavirus caseload climbed by nearly 15,000 as of Monday to 425,282, with more than 13,000 deaths, the health ministry reported.
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After easing the nationwide lockdown, the Indian government has run special trains to return thousands of migrant workers to their natal villages in recent weeks. Nearly 90% of India’s poorest districts have cases, though the outbreak remains centered in Delhi, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu states, which are home to major cities.
Infections slowed in China and South Korea, suggesting some progress in stemming their newest outbreaks. But despite clear headway in containing the virus in regions that suffered early outbreaks, globally the number of new virus cases has soared in recent days. In Brazil, Iraq, India and the United States, hospitals are scrambling to cope.
Nearly 9 million people have been infected by the new coronavirus and more than 468,000 people have died, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Experts say the actual numbers are much higher, given limits to testing and the presumed large share of asymptomatic cases.
A doctor checks the temperature of a man in Mumbai, India, on June 20, 2020. ASSOCIATED PRESS
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In a grim reminder of the pandemic’s ubiquitous reach, Philippine officials said Saudi Arabia’s king had asked that the remains of 282 Filipino workers who perished in recent months in the oil-rich kingdom be repatriated within three days. They died of varied causes, but virus restrictions delayed repatriations.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said the Philippine government asked that the deadline be extended and that the bodies of about 50 Filipinos who died of COVID-19 be buried in Saudi Arabia.
The Philippines has reported more than 30,000 infections and 1,169 deaths, among the highest in Southeast Asia. It is struggling to help bring home tens of thousands of Filipinos who have lost their work abroad.
In Pakistan, infections are accelerating and hospitals are having to turn away patients, with new cases up to 6,800 a day in mid-June. The government has relaxed pandemic restrictions, hoping to salvage a near-collapsed economy as the number of people living in poverty has risen to 40%, up from 30% of the population of 220 million people.
In Iraq, masked workers were setting up makeshift coronavirus wards in Baghdad’s vast exhibition grounds as a long-dreaded spike in infections strained its overstretched hospitals, battered by years of conflict and poor infrastructure.
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Late Sunday, the World Health Organization reported the largest single-day increase in coronavirus cases by its count, at more than 183,000 new cases in the latest 24 hours. Brazil tallied 54,771 and the U.S. was next at 36,617, the UN health agency said. India reported more than 15,400.
Experts say rising case counts reflect multiple factors including more testing and spreading infections. More than two-thirds of the new deaths were reported in the Americas.
Still, in East Asia there were signs of progress, as South Korea reported 17 new cases, the first time its daily increase fell to under 20 in nearly a month.
The recent outbreak has been centered around Seoul, the capital, where the mayor warned stronger social distancing measures may be reimposed if the daily new cases don’t fall below an average of 30 in the next three days.
“If Seoul gets penetrated (by the virus), the entire Republic of Korea gets penetrated,” Mayor Park Won-soon said, using the country’s formal name. He said the basic reproduction number of virus carriers, or number of infections caused by an individual, rose to nearly 1.8 between April 30 and June 11. Any number above 1 indicates a growing epidemic.
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People wearing face masks to help protect against the spread of the new coronavirus pray while maintaining social distancing during a service at the Chogyesa temple in South Korea on June 22, 2020. ASSOCIATED PRESS
A rise in cases among people arriving from South Asia prompted a halt to new visas for travelers from Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Elsewhere in Asia, Beijing’s increase was in single digits for the first time in eight days. It reported nine cases.
But Australia’s Victoria state reported 16 new cases of the coronavirus as it tries to bring an outbreak there under control. The number of cases there is the highest in two months, accounting for more than 80% of Australia’s new cases over the past week.
In the United States, experts say the resurgence in infections there is not a so-called “second wave” but a continuation of the first wave of outbreaks as the number of cases plateaus.
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New cases are dipping in some parts of the country while rising mainly in the the South, West and Midwest, swamping hospitals in some areas.
The coronavirus has killed about 120,000 people nationwide. More than 30,000 cases were reported on Friday and Saturday, with the daily totals their highest since May 1.
In New York City, the worst affected area so far, efforts to stop the pandemic’s spread through contact tracing are being hampered by the reluctance of many people to provide information to tracers.
The New York Times reported only 35% of the 5,347 city residents who tested positive or were presumed positive for COVID-19 in the first two weeks of the contact tracing program gave information about their close contacts.
But Dr. Ted Long, head of New York City’s new Test and Trace Corps, defended the program, saying 69% of the people who complete an interview provide contacts.
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The city will hit a turning point Monday: allowing New Yorkers to dine out for the first time in three months, though only at outdoor tables. Shoppers can browse, shaggy heads get haircuts and kids climb playground monkey bars, instead of their apartment walls.
Office workers will be allowed to resume their commutes, though many won’t yet.
Larry Silverstein, the 89-year-old World Trade Center developer, said he couldn’t wait.
Returning to office life and in-person teamwork brings “a joy, a fulfillment, such a sense of being able to function,” he said.
“I went through 9/11. I remember people telling me we were never going to be able to get people to come back to lower Manhattan,” said Silverstein, who leased the twin towers six weeks before the 2001 terror attacks destroyed them. “Never bet against New York, because New York always comes back, bigger and better than ever before.”
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huffpost--2020-06-22--2 Lawyers Of Color Face 45-Year Sentences — For Vandalism

Mattis described himself as a piece of vintage furniture that you aren ’ t sure you want , but you bring it home anyway and put it in a room — and it somehow perfectly brings the room together , and you don ’ t know how you lived without it in the first place .
In recent days , dozens of colleagues , friends and former classmates have come together and reached for the same hopeful metaphor .
As the 32-year-old lawyer sits in a Brooklyn jail awaiting a bail hearing , they say they can ’ t imagine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He is a loyal and community-minded man who poses no threat to society and deserves to be released pending trial , they argue .
Mattis , along with Urooj Rahman , 31 , was arrested in New York City on May 30 during protests against racism and police brutality following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers .
The two were charged with attempting to burn an unoccupied , already damaged New York City Police Department vehicle .
Nobody was injured in the incident .
Now Mattis and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a 45-year mandatory minimum sentence , and up to life in prison — for what essentially amounts to property damage .
Activists and lawyers are alarmed by the unusually harsh charges being brought against them , and believe Mattis and Rahman should not be awaiting trial in jail .
They say that they are not a threat to society — which the prosecution is arguing — and it is highly unlikely they ’ re a flight risk or will commit another crime .
Mattis is a corporate lawyer educated at Princeton and NYU @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and works for Bronx Legal Services , helping low-income clients fight evictions in housing court .
Both grew up in New York and are deeply connected to their communities .
The contrast is particularly stark at this moment people around the world are rising up and demonstrating against racism .
Lawyers familiar with their case say it is highly unusual for defendants like Mattis and Rahman — Ivy-league educated and human-rights minded with no history of violence — to be held in jail , and not out on bail .
The decision of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trial will determine whether they can be at home contributing to their legal defense or whether they will be in jail , where COVID-19 continues to run rampant ; where inmates are frequently targets of violence ; and where they are separated from their attorneys , peers and friends .
Hundreds of law students and professors from NYU — more than 850 — wrote to express their concern with the federal government ’ s aggressive charges and pursuit of pretrial detention ; so did the Legal Services Staff Association union .
Fordham Law @ @ @ @ @ @ @ faculty .
They wrote , “ We believe that the Department of Justice ’ s prosecution and efforts to incarcerate Urooj and Colin are a gross overreach of federal law enforcement power , and an attempt to stifle and delegitimize dissent against police brutality.
” The head of Mattis ’ s former high school , the boarding school St. Andrew ’ s in Delaware , issued a statement to the school community in support of their former student .
HuffPost spoke to Darcy Caldwell , his former English teacher , who described him @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hurdles to become successful in her class .
Alexa Caldwell , Darcy ’ s daughter , attended school with Mattis and was on a trip to a school conference with him in 2006 .
He was always social justice minded , Caldwell said .
She remembers boarding the bus back to the hotel and how he and his friend Ikenna Iheoma couldn ’ t stop talking about a senator they met .
It wasn ’ t someone she had heard of before — his name was Barack Obama .
They even took a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ arrest , Mattis and Rahman went before the Magistrate Judge Steven M. Gold , who presided over their arraignment virtually .
He found that Mattis and Rahman could safely be released with electronic monitoring .
But then federal prosecutors appealed the ruling ; they believed the two were a potential threat to society and a flight risk .
The case was then examined by the District Judge Margo K. Brodie .
She reviewed Judge Gold ’ s decision and determined that Mattis and Rahman should be released , too .
Mattis and Rahman @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to home confinement with GPS monitoring .
From there the case took a highly unusual turn , according to lawyers familiar with it .
Almost immediately , the government filed a notice of appeal .
They announced that they were going to seek an emergency stay of the district court ’ s decision to send them home .
On June 5 , a three-judge panel in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit revoked Mattis and Rahman ’ s bond on the basis that the defendants were a continual danger to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ custody that day .
It is an extraordinary move for the government to order them back in jail , said J .
Wells Dixon , a senior staff attorney for the Center for Constitutional Rights .
What stands in harsh contrast is the notion that if you are a white police officer standing accused of murdering a Black man , you get to be out on bail , he said .
But if you are Black and Muslim , you are too dangerous to await trial from home .
Pretrial detention has enormous @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a recent paper on what happens to defendants during the pretrial period .
Being kept in detention during pretrial causally increases “ the likelihood of a conviction , the severity of the sentence , and , in some jurisdictions , defendants ’ likelihood of future contact with the criminal justice system .
”

Urooj Rahman and Colinford Mattis Courtesy of Hyder Kazmi, left; Meghna Philip, right
In a high school English assignment in which students were asked to describe themselves as a metaphor, Colinford King Mattis had a lot of fun with his essay.
Mattis described himself as a piece of vintage furniture that you aren’t sure you want, but you bring it home anyway and put it in a room — and it somehow perfectly brings the room together, and you don’t know how you lived without it in the first place.
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In recent days, dozens of colleagues, friends and former classmates have come together and reached for the same hopeful metaphor. As the 32-year-old lawyer sits in a Brooklyn jail awaiting a bail hearing, they say they can’t imagine a room without Mattis in it. He is a loyal and community-minded man who poses no threat to society and deserves to be released pending trial, they argue.
Mattis, along with Urooj Rahman, 31, was arrested in New York City on May 30 during protests against racism and police brutality following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers. The two were charged with attempting to burn an unoccupied, already damaged New York City Police Department vehicle. Nobody was injured in the incident. Now Mattis and Rahman face additional federal charges that carry a 45-year mandatory minimum sentence, and up to life in prison — for what essentially amounts to property damage.
Activists and lawyers are alarmed by the unusually harsh charges being brought against them, and believe Mattis and Rahman should not be awaiting trial in jail. They say that they are not a threat to society — which the prosecution is arguing — and it is highly unlikely they’re a flight risk or will commit another crime. Mattis is a corporate lawyer educated at Princeton and NYU Law; Rahman went to Fordham Law and works for Bronx Legal Services, helping low-income clients fight evictions in housing court. Both grew up in New York and are deeply connected to their communities.
Mattis and Rahman — a Black man and Muslim woman — sit in jail at the same time that the police officers who fatally shot Breonna Taylor have not even had charges brought against them.
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The contrast is particularly stark at this moment people around the world are rising up and demonstrating against racism. Lawyers familiar with their case say it is highly unusual for defendants like Mattis and Rahman — Ivy-league educated and human-rights minded with no history of violence — to be held in jail, and not out on bail.
The decision of whether defendants are released or detained pending trial will determine whether they can be at home contributing to their legal defense or whether they will be in jail, where COVID-19 continues to run rampant; where inmates are frequently targets of violence; and where they are separated from their attorneys, peers and friends.
Hundreds of law students and professors from NYU — more than 850 — wrote to express their concern with the federal government’s aggressive charges and pursuit of pretrial detention; so did the Legal Services Staff Association union. Fordham Law School gathered 650 signatures from students and faculty. They wrote, “We believe that the Department of Justice’s prosecution and efforts to incarcerate Urooj and Colin are a gross overreach of federal law enforcement power, and an attempt to stifle and delegitimize dissent against police brutality.”
The head of Mattis’s former high school, the boarding school St. Andrew’s in Delaware, issued a statement to the school community in support of their former student. HuffPost spoke to Darcy Caldwell, his former English teacher, who described him as a teenager who overcame enormous academic hurdles to become successful in her class.
“Colin has so much goodness to offer this world and I hope he has the chance to do that,” she said.
Alexa Caldwell, Darcy’s daughter, attended school with Mattis and was on a trip to a school conference with him in 2006. He was always social justice minded, Caldwell said. She remembers boarding the bus back to the hotel and how he and his friend Ikenna Iheoma couldn’t stop talking about a senator they met. It wasn’t someone she had heard of before — his name was Barack Obama. They even took a photo with him.
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Colin Mattis, right, with then-Sen. Barack Obama in 2006. Courtesy of Ikenna Iheoma
Initially after their arrest, Mattis and Rahman went before the Magistrate Judge Steven M. Gold, who presided over their arraignment virtually. He found that Mattis and Rahman could safely be released with electronic monitoring. But then federal prosecutors appealed the ruling; they believed the two were a potential threat to society and a flight risk. The case was then examined by the District Judge Margo K. Brodie. She reviewed Judge Gold’s decision and determined that Mattis and Rahman should be released, too. Mattis and Rahman were released on a $250,000 bond to home confinement with GPS monitoring.
From there the case took a highly unusual turn, according to lawyers familiar with it. Almost immediately, the government filed a notice of appeal. They announced that they were going to seek an emergency stay of the district court’s decision to send them home. On June 5, a three-judge panel in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit revoked Mattis and Rahman’s bond on the basis that the defendants were a continual danger to society. They were taken back into custody that day.
It is noteworthy that two of the three judges on the panel, Judge Michael H. Park and Judge William J. Nardini, were appointed by President Donald Trump, lawyers say.
“The disproportionate prosecution of Urooj and Colin is another iteration of the Trump administration’s attempt to detract from police violence in the US,” the Fordham Law School signatories wrote in their open letter. “Indeed, Rahman, a Pakistani Muslim immigrant and Mattis, a young Black man, are convenient scapegoats given this country’s deeply entrenched and violent history of anti-Black racism and Islamophobia.”
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It is an extraordinary move for the government to order them back in jail, said J. Wells Dixon, a senior staff attorney for the Center for Constitutional Rights. What stands in harsh contrast is the notion that if you are a white police officer standing accused of murdering a Black man, you get to be out on bail, he said. But if you are Black and Muslim, you are too dangerous to await trial from home.
“It is an illustration of everything that is wrong with the criminal justice system,” Dixon said in a phone call with HuffPost. “It is the reason why thousands of people have taken to the streets around the world.”
Pretrial detention has enormous knock-on effects, according to the authors of a recent paper on what happens to defendants during the pretrial period. Being kept in detention during pretrial causally increases “the likelihood of a conviction, the severity of the sentence, and, in some jurisdictions, defendants’ likelihood of future contact with the criminal justice system.”
“They face a 45-year mandatory minimum,” Dixon said. “How do you square that? It is shocking and appalling that in the United States someone could spend 45 years in prison for vandalizing an empty police car that had been previously vandalized. That is not right.”
On Tuesday, Mattis and Rahman will go before another panel of judges — none of them Trump appointees.
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huffpost--2020-06-22--Surging U.S. Virus Cases Raise Fear That Progress Is Slipping

The disturbing signs in the Sunshine State as well as places like Arizona , Alabama , Texas and South Carolina — along with countries such as Brazil , India and Pakistan — are raising fears that the progress won after months of lockdowns is slipping away .
“ It is snowballing , ” said Dr. Marc Boom , CEO and president of Houston Methodist Hospital , noting that the number of hospitalizations in the Texas Medical Center system that includes the hospital has more than doubled since Memorial Day .
“ If we don ’ t do what we can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the spread , the virus will take our choices away from us.
” The number of newly confirmed coronavirus cases across the country per day has reached more than 26,000 , up from about 21,000 two weeks ago , according to an Associated Press analysis of data compiled by Johns Hopkins University .
The analysis looked at a seven-day rolling average through Sunday .
Over 120,000 deaths in the U.S. have been blamed on the virus .
“ A lot of transmission happened there , ” Pino said .
“ People are very @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
People are drinking , shouting , dancing , sweating , kissing and hugging , all the things that happen in bars .
And all those things that happen are not good for COVID-19.
” Although he asked health officials to renew calls for people to wear masks and keep their distance , Gov .
Ron DeSantis has not signaled he will retreat from reopening the state after three months of shutdowns that have damaged the economy .
Dr. Michael Ryan , the World Health Organization ’ s emergencies chief , said that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the U.S. and a number of other countries , dismissing the notion that the record daily levels of new COVID-19 cases simply reflect more testing .
He noted that numerous countries have also noted marked increases in hospital admissions and deaths .
The stat ’ s positive test rate is at a seven-day average of 20.4 % , well above the national average of 8.4 % and the 10 % level that public health officials say is a problem .
When the positive test rate rises , it means that an outbreak @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people are getting tested .
At Maryland ’ s Fort Washington Medical Center on the outskirts of the nation ’ s capital , workers described a scramble to find new beds , heartbreaking interactions with family members of critically ill patients and their frustration with Americans who do not believe the coronavirus threat is real .
“ Everybody is out lounging on the beaches .
Just thinking that it ’ s over .
And it ’ s not , ” respiratory therapist Kevin Cole said .
“ It ’ s far from being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s those people that keep we ’ ll keep this pandemic going.
” Nearly 9 million people have been confirmed infected by the virus worldwide and about 470,000 have died , according to Johns Hopkins , though experts say the actual numbers are much higher because of limited testing and cases in which patients had no symptoms .
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus , who has faced criticism from President Donald Trump , said during a videoconference for the Dubai-based World Government Summit that it took over three months for the world to see 1 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ days to see the most recent 1 million cases .
Trump has criticized the WHO for its early response to the outbreak and what he considers its excessive praise of China , where the outbreak began , though his own administration ’ s response in the U.S. has come under attack .
Trump has threatened to end all U.S. funding for the WHO .
Companies around the world are racing to find a vaccine , and there is fierce debate over how to make sure it is distributed fairly .
WHO ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nabarro , said he believes it will be “ 2 1/2 years until there will be vaccine for everybody in the world .
”

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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Coronavirus cases in Florida surpassed 100,000 on Monday, part of an alarming surge across the South and West as states reopen for business and many Americans resist wearing masks or keeping their distance from others.
The disturbing signs in the Sunshine State as well as places like Arizona, Alabama, Texas and South Carolina — along with countries such as Brazil, India and Pakistan — are raising fears that the progress won after months of lockdowns is slipping away.
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“It is snowballing,” said Dr. Marc Boom, CEO and president of Houston Methodist Hospital, noting that the number of hospitalizations in the Texas Medical Center system that includes the hospital has more than doubled since Memorial Day. “If we don’t do what we can RIGHT NOW as a community to stop the spread, the virus will take our choices away from us.”
The number of newly confirmed coronavirus cases across the country per day has reached more than 26,000, up from about 21,000 two weeks ago, according to an Associated Press analysis of data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The analysis looked at a seven-day rolling average through Sunday. Over 120,000 deaths in the U.S. have been blamed on the virus.
In Orlando, 152 coronavirus cases were linked to one bar near the University of Central Florida campus, said Dr. Raul Pino, a state health officer in the resort city.
“A lot of transmission happened there,” Pino said. “People are very close. People are not wearing masks. People are drinking, shouting, dancing, sweating, kissing and hugging, all the things that happen in bars. And all those things that happen are not good for COVID-19.”
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Although he asked health officials to renew calls for people to wear masks and keep their distance, Gov. Ron DeSantis has not signaled he will retreat from reopening the state after three months of shutdowns that have damaged the economy.
Dr. Michael Ryan, the World Health Organization’s emergencies chief, said that the outbreak is “definitely accelerating” in the U.S. and a number of other countries, dismissing the notion that the record daily levels of new COVID-19 cases simply reflect more testing. He noted that numerous countries have also noted marked increases in hospital admissions and deaths.
“The epidemic is now peaking or moving towards a peak in a number of large countries,” he warned.
Arizona, in particular, is seeing disturbing trends in several benchmarks, including the percentage of tests that prove positive for the virus. Arizona’s is the highest in the nation.
The stat’s positive test rate is at a seven-day average of 20.4%, well above the national average of 8.4% and the 10% level that public health officials say is a problem. When the positive test rate rises, it means that an outbreak is worsening — not just that more people are getting tested.
At Maryland’s Fort Washington Medical Center on the outskirts of the nation’s capital, workers described a scramble to find new beds, heartbreaking interactions with family members of critically ill patients and their frustration with Americans who do not believe the coronavirus threat is real.
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“Everybody is out lounging on the beaches. Just thinking that it’s over. And it’s not,” respiratory therapist Kevin Cole said. “It’s far from being over. And unfortunately, it’s those people that keep we’ll keep this pandemic going.”
Nearly 9 million people have been confirmed infected by the virus worldwide and about 470,000 have died, according to Johns Hopkins, though experts say the actual numbers are much higher because of limited testing and cases in which patients had no symptoms.
Amid the global surge, the head of WHO warned that world leaders must not politicize the outbreak but unite to fight it.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who has faced criticism from President Donald Trump, said during a videoconference for the Dubai-based World Government Summit that it took over three months for the world to see 1 million confirmed infections, but just eight days to see the most recent 1 million cases.
Tedros did not mention Trump ;by name or his determination to pull the United States out of the U.N. health agency but warned against “politicizing” the pandemic.
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“The greatest threat we face now is not the virus itself, it’s the lack of global solidarity and global leadership,” he said. “We cannot defeat this pandemic with a divided world.”
Trump has criticized the WHO for its early response to the outbreak and what he considers its excessive praise of China, where the outbreak began, though his own administration’s response in the U.S. has come under attack. Trump has threatened to end all U.S. funding for the WHO.
Companies around the world are racing to find a vaccine, and there is fierce debate over how to make sure it is distributed fairly. WHO’s special envoy on COVID-19, Dr. David Nabarro, said he believes it will be “2 1/2 years until there will be vaccine for everybody in the world.”
India’s health care system has been slammed by the virus. The country’s caseload climbed by nearly 15,000 Monday to over 425,000, with more than 13,000 deaths.
After easing a nationwide lockdown, the Indian government in recent weeks ran special trains to return thousands of migrant workers to their home villages.
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In Pakistan, infections are accelerating and hospitals are having to turn away patients, with new cases up to 6,800 a day. The government has relaxed its coronavirus restrictions, hoping to salvage a near-collapsed economy in the country of 220 million people.
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