🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️NewsHero | Walmart requires masks; Pentagon (supposedly) bans Confederate flag; FBI looks into Twitter hack; 15 women allege harassment at Redskins job; RBG getting chemo, stays at work
July 17, 2020 - Issue 141
Welcome to the final edition of NewsHero: July 17, 2020.
Thank you!
Dear Heroes,
As our journey together comes to an end we want to thank you for being a part of our small but loyal NewsHero family for the last 340 issues.
Thank you for your generous feedback and support. Thank you for reading and thank you for caring.
We are grateful for the opportunity to serve you and to have been given the chance to highlight the heroes where we were able to find them.
We wish all the best to you and yours and hope that you stay safe and healthy.
Thank you,
Benji & Team NewsHero
Today is International Criminal Justice Day, the anniversary of the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Visit Human Rights Watch for more on this important day on justice for victims of international crimes.
Now, on with this issue, which also includes: Atlanta Mayor stands defiant in support of mask mandates as Georgia Governor sues; Mark Zuckerberg criticizes Trump’s COVID-19 response…it’s something, at least; Even Republicans are telling Trump to ease up on his anti-mail-in voter ballot junk; People are actually buying into the baseless Wayfair/child-trafficking conspiracy; and our hero of the day, Sebastian Bach, tweets: “If you support Donald Trump you stand against rock n’ roll…”
Health-care workers hold a protest outside St. Petersburg General Hospital in Florida this week where, across the state, new coronavirus cases continue to surge. (Octavio Jones/Reuters)
Atlanta Mayor Stands Defiant In Support Of Masks As Governor Sues
Walmart, Sam’s Club require masks at all stores
🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️ - Those taking science into account on the issue of re-opening schools
🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️ - Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, for trying to implement rules that stop the spread of the coronavirus
🦸♀️🦸♀️ - USA Today, for owning up to publishing Navarro’s BS attack on Fauci
🦸♀️ - Walmart, for requiring masks
As the U.S. still grapples with how to handle the coming fall school session, White House health adviser Dr. Deborah Birx said last week the country has not been testing enough children to conclude they won’t cause spikes in cases of COVID-19.
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Thursday however, winning her today’s award for saying the exact opposite of what should be said: “The president has said unmistakably that he wants schools to open. And when he says open, he means open in full, kids been able to attend each and every day at their school,” USA Today reports.
“The science should not stand in the way of this,” she added.
Yes, it should, Kayleigh! It’s the thing that should most stand in the way.
“It’s my belief that the city of Atlanta still has the appropriate standing to mandate masks,” Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said at a news conference on Thursday, Politico reports. “Especially as it relates to buildings and places that we own and operate.” Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp sued Thursday to stop Bottoms from mandating masks be worn in the city to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
“I am not afraid of the city being sued,” Bottoms said.
A July 1 order by California Gov. Gavin Newsom aimed at stopping the spread of the coronavirus says, “Places of worship must therefore discontinue singing and chanting activities” during the pandemic. Now, three churches are suing Newsom and other public health officials over the ban, citing discrimination, reports The Hill.
Governors across the U.S. are objecting to a new coronavirus reporting system where data no longer appears on a CDC website as hospitals start filing information to a private contractor or their states instead. In a statement, the National Governors Association said hospitals need the time to learn a new system, as they continue to deal with this pandemic, The Washington Post reports. The governors urged the administration to delay implementing the new system for 30 days and to keep the information publicly available.
As coronavirus cases surge in Florida, officials said Thursday they’re worried about hospitals hitting a breaking point, reports The Washington Post.
“We can withstand a surge. We can withstand a disaster. But we can’t withstand a disaster every single day,” said Jason Wilson, associate medical director of the emergency department at Tampa General Hospital. “How many jumbo jet crashes can you handle before you run out of capacity? That’s what we’re facing.”
With patients flooding into emergency rooms, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said the city’s hospitals were at 95 percent capacity. “We’re running pretty full now,” said Mark Knight, chief financial officer for Miami’s Jackson Health System.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, says he spoke with Donald Trump on Thursday for the first time since June 2. Timing is everything! CBS News has the story.
Bill Sternberg, the editorial page editor of USA Today, said Wednesday that several attacks on Dr. Fauci made by Donald Trump’s top trade adviser Peter Navarro “were misleading or lacked context,” The New York Times reports.
USA Today published an op-ed by Navarro in which he said Fauci was “wrong about everything.”
Sternberg concluded that the op-ed, which appeared in the paper’s Wednesday print edition, “did not meet USA Today’s fact-checking standards.”
Ya think?
An announcement for Walmart’s corporate newsroom says: “A Simple Step to Help Keep You Safe: Walmart and Sam’s Club Require Shoppers to Wear Face Coverings” —Hey, way to go Walmart! “We know some people have differing opinions on this topic. We also recognize the role we can play to help protect the health and well-being of the communities we serve by following the evolving guidance of health officials like the CDC. We appreciate the understanding and cooperation of our customers and members in wearing face coverings to protect their safety and the safety of our associates,” the announcement states.
Hundreds of young doctors needed to treat COVID-10 patients have had their visas put on hold indefinitely, and, thanks to Donald Trump’s visa ban, hospitals are seeing staff shortages. ProPublica has the story.
Doctors and hospitals have come a long way in learning how to better treat coronavirus patients, reports Axios. Some of the simplest changes have been the most effective. For example, doctors have learned that flipping patients onto their stomachs instead of their backs can help increase airflow to the lungs, Axios writes.
Savannah Kinzer reads a statement after leading a group of fellow employees in a walkout at Whole Foods in Cambridge, Massachusetts (Erin Clark/The Boston Globe via Getty Image)
Pentagon Bans Display Of Confederate Flag
Virginia teen leads Black Lives Matter protests
🦸♀️ - Mark Esper, for trying to do the right thing and get rid of the Confederate flag
🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️ - George Floyd’s family, for the suit against the city
🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️ - Travon Brown and peaceful protesters
🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️ - Black Lives Matter supporters
🦸♀️ - The Washington NFL team for FINALLY agreeing to change its offensive name
The Pentagon today announced a new policy that effectively bans the display of the Confederate flag—without actually naming it, reports Politico. A copy of the policy was obtained by Politico ahead of the official rollout, and shows Defense Secretary Mark Esper trying to satisfy military leaders without upsetting Donald Trump, who seemingly loves the flag, having criticized NASCAR for banning it.
“The flags we fly must accord with the military imperatives of good order and discipline, treating all our people with dignity and respect, and rejecting divisive symbols,” Esper wrote in the memo.
This week we covered:
Employees at some of the largest chains in the U.S. are wearing Black Lives Matter face masks and shirts on the job, reports Business Insider. Employees at grocery stores including Publix and Whole Foods have spoken out after they were banned from wearing Black Lives Matter masks and anti-racism shirts.
The Washington Redskins NFL team announced Monday it’s changing its name and dropping the Indian head logo, bowing to recent pressure from sponsors and decades of criticism that they are offensive to Native Americans, The Associated Press reports. Because they are indeed offensive.
The WNBA season is scheduled to tip-off July 25 with all games that weekend dedicated to the Black Lives Matter movement, The Associated Press reports. All 12 franchises will play the opening weekend and honor victims of police brutality and racial violence. Team uniforms will display Breonna Taylor’s name. Players will each have the option to continue to wear Taylor’s name on their jersey for subsequent games.
According to a study by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, an activist group that fights discrimination, white applicants for Paycheck Protection Program loans were treated better than Black applicants, Politico reports. The group found “different levels of encouragement to apply for loans, different products offered and different information provided by bank representatives.”
Attorneys for the family of George Floyd filed a federal civil rights lawsuit on Wednesday against the city of Minneapolis and the police officers involved in his death, calling the killing part of “a public health crisis” in Black America, writes CNN.
Travon Brown, a 17-year-old Black high school student, lead a Black Lives Matter protest in Marion, Va. then had a cross burned in the yard of his family’s home. The Washington Post has the story on the brave teen and a hoard of disgusting racists.
A “sturddlefish,” a hybrid of Russian sturgeon and American paddlefish, accidentally bred in a nursery in Hungary. (Flórián Tóth) Scientists Accidentally Bred the Fish Version of a Liger - The New York Times
FBI Looking Into Twitter Hack
Zuckerberg criticizes Trump’s COVID-19 response
🦸♀️🦸♀️ - FBI, for looking into Twitter hack
🦸♀️ - Mark Zuckerberg, for criticizing Trump and his lack of coronavirus response
🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️ - People who do not believe—and disprove—baseless conspiracy theories
The FBI is leading a federal inquiry into the Twitter hacking, two sources familiar with the situation said, after hackers took control of high-profile accounts in what appeared to be a bitcoin scam. Reuters has the story.
Earlier the FBI had said: “We are aware of today’s security incident involving several Twitter accounts belonging to high profile individuals. The accounts appear to have been compromised in order to perpetuate cryptocurrency fraud.”
On Wednesday, messages promoting a bitcoin scam started appearing on prominent Twitter accounts, including those of Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Mike Bloomberg, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Warren Buffett, Axios reports.
The hack “provided a grim reminder of the vulnerability of our communications platforms, government systems and business networks,” Axios said.
As Wired points out: “The Twitter Hack Could Have Been Much Worse—and Maybe Was”
CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday criticized President Trump’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, saying he was disappointed by the administration’s response, reports CNBC.
“At this point, it is clear that the trajectory in the U.S. is significantly worse than many other countries and that our government and this administration have been considerably less effective in handling this,” Zuckerberg said during a live-streamed chat with Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert.
Here’s a thought Mark: Perhaps it would be helpful if you didn’t continue to undermine coronavirus safety measures through the conspiracy theories and misinformation that run amuck all over Facebook—YOUR company.
Speaking of conspiracy theories and misinformation, have you heard the one about Wayfair and the child-trafficking? The baseless conspiracy theory took off after an anonymous user posed a bizarre question in an internet chatroom: What if retail giant Wayfair is using pricey storage cabinets to traffic children? This report is from Voice of America.
“Conspiracy theorists always managed to spread their theories in the past, but the internet has made this much easier,” said Kathryn Olmsted, a history professor who studies conspiracy theories at the University of California, Davis. “If you believe in one, you believe in another. You start collecting them.”
The de-bunking of this one runs deep, too. So deep that children claimed to be missing as a result of the child-trafficking are posting online saying things like: “Why am I mad? Because I'm not missing.”
Thanks again, Facebook.
Emily Applegate, photographed this week, said her year working for the Redskins was "the most miserable experience of my life." (Photo by Celeste Sloman for The Washington Post)
15 Female Employees Allege Sexual Harassment Working For D.C. NFL Team
Sebastian Bach: ‘If you support Donald Trump you stand against rock n’ roll’
🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️ - Women speaking up about sexual harassment working for NFL team
🦸♀️ - Republicans against Trump’s anti-mail-in ballot attacks
🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️ - Voter rights advocates
🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️ - RBG, we wish her good health
🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️ - Sebastian Bach, for being a rock and roll hero on the right side of science
Apparently it’s not just the name that’s offensive when it comes to Washington D.C.’s NFL team. “More than a dozen women allege sexual harassment and verbal abuse by former team employees at Redskins Park,” writes The Washington Post.
Emily Applegate is one of 15 former female Redskins employees who told The Washington Post they were sexually harassed during their time at the club.
“It was the most miserable experience of my life,” Applegate, now 31, said of her year working as a marketing coordinator for the club, which she left in 2015. “And we all tolerated it because we knew if we complained—and they reminded us of this—there were 1,000 people out there who would take our job in a heartbeat.”
“I have never been in a more hostile, manipulative, passive-aggressive environment … and I worked in politics,” said Julia Payne, former assistant press secretary in the Clinton administration who briefly served as vice president of communications for the team in 2003.
Even Republicans are turning on Trump and his anti-mail-in ballot attacks. Top Republicans are urging senior Trump campaign officials to press the President to change his messaging and embrace mail-in voting, warning that the party could lose the battle for control of Congress and the White House if he doesn't change his tune, writes CNN.
Florida voters approved a measure in 2o18 to restore felons’ voting rights after they’ve completed their sentences, says Axios. But after Gov. Ron DeSantis clamped down on that one, the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday declined to block the state’s rules that prevent some convicted felons from voting.
Axios writes: This legal dispute will ultimately determine whether hundreds of thousands of Floridians are eligible to vote—enough to swing an election.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said Friday she is receiving chemotherapy for a recurrence of cancer, but has no plans to retire from the Supreme Court, The Associated Press reports.
Ginsburg, 87, who has had four earlier bouts with cancer, said her treatment so far has succeeded in reducing lesions on her liver and she will continue chemotherapy sessions every two weeks “to keep my cancer at bay.”
“I have often said I would remain a member of the Court as long as I can do the job full steam. I remain fully able to do that,” Ginsburg said in a statement issued by the court.
While we’re quoting heroes, here’s a Wednesday tweet from former Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach:
“If you support Donald Trump you stand against rock n’ roll and every musician in America who has been put out of work because a reality television show host doesn’t believe in science”
Joshua Wong (R) and fellow pro-democracy activists campaign during the primary which was held despite a warning that it could be in breach of a tough new security law imposed by Beijing (Isaac Lawrence/AFP)
Hong Kong Voters Turn Out For Pro-Democracy Candidates
US Navy does ‘sail-by’ in South China Sea
🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️ - Pro-democracy advocates in Hong Kong + voter + protesters
🦸♀️ - Donald Trump, for opposing Beijing’s national oppression law
🦸♀️ - Mike Pompeo, for standing up to China in South Sea
🦸♀️🦸♀️ - The U.S. Navy, for watching the South China Sea
This week we covered:
Hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong residents lined up to cast ballots over the weekend in an unofficial poll to select the strongest pro-democracy candidates who will aim to seize control from pro-Beijing rivals for the first time, reports Guardian News. The vote might fall foul of the new national security law imposed by Beijing, According to senior Hong Kong officials, the vote might be squashed by Beijing’s new national oppression law, but residents visited 250 polling stations in a symbolic protest vote.
“Despite the threat of the national security law, there are still nearly 600,000 people coming out to vote," Au Nok-hin, one of the organizers of the primaries, said, reports The Hill. “We can see Hong Kongers are really brave.”
Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he has signed a bill sanctioning Chinese officials over Beijing's national oppression law for Hong Kong, reports Axios. He also signed an executive order ending preferential treatment for Hong Kong.
“This law gives my administration powerful new tools to hold responsible the individuals and the entities involved in extinguishing Hong Kong’s freedom. ... Their freedom’s been taken away, their rights have been taken away, and with it goes Hong Kong, in my opinion, because it will no longer be able to compete with free markets,” Trump said.
The U.S. and the world “will not allow Beijing to treat the South China Sea as its maritime empire,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday, prompting China to hit back, as tensions between the two powers increase, reports NBC News.
“We are making clear: Beijing’s claims to offshore resources across most of the South China Sea are completely unlawful, as is its campaign of bullying to control them,'“ Pompeo said in a statement, referring to the energy-rich stretch of water.
After the U.S. State Department called Beijing’s actions in the South China Sea and attempts at dominance unlawful, the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Ralph Johnson further challenged China with a sail-by operation Tuesday, Business Insider reports.
“This freedom of navigation operation upheld the rights, freedoms, and lawful uses of the sea recognized in international law by challenging the restrictions on innocent passage imposed by China, Vietnam and Taiwan,” the Navy said in a statement. “Unlawful and sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea pose a serious threat to the freedom of the seas.”
China’s own records debunk ‘historic rights’ over disputed seas - Al Jazeera
What Did Geoffrey Berman Tell the House Judiciary Committee? - Lawfare
Dogs may use Earth’s magnetic field to take shortcuts - Science
BlueLeaks Shows Worry About Masks and Facial Recognition - The Intercept
Sweden becomes an example of how not to handle COVID-19 - CBS News
U.S. epidemiologists say data secrecy on COVID-19 cases cripples intervention strategies - Science
The troll who staged a fake flag burning at Gettysburg: ‘People will believe the most unrealistic nonsense’ - The Washington Post
‘He’s not demoted’: Trump spokesman spins campaign manager’s removal - Politico
Senate Republicans eye subpoenas of Biden advisers in Burisma probe - Politico
Sources:
'Science should not stand in the way' of schools reopening, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany says - USA Today
California churches sue governor over singing ban - The Hill
Georgia’s Democratic mayors hit back at Kemp over mask mandates - Politico
Georgia governor sues Atlanta mayor to block city's mask mandate - Axios
Disappearance of covid-19 data from CDC website spurs outcry - The Washington Post
Sun Belt hospitals are feeling the strain from virus’ surge—and bracing for worse - The Washington Post
Fauci and Trump share first call since June 2 as 41 states see surge of coronavirus cases - CBS News
A Simple Step to Help Keep You Safe: Walmart and Sam’s Club Require Shoppers to Wear Face Coverings - Walmart
USA Today, After Fracas, Says Op-Ed Attacking Fauci Fell Short of Standards - The New York Times
Hospitals Are Suddenly Short of Young Doctors—Because of Trump’s Visa Ban - ProPublica
Doctors and hospitals have gotten better at treating coronavirus patients - Axios
Workers speak out against Black Lives Matter face mask bans - Business Insider
Washington’s NFL team drops ‘Redskins’ name after 87 years - AP News
WNBA season scheduled to tip off on July 25 - AP News
Black applicants faced discrimination in securing PPP loans, study finds - Politico
George Floyd's family files civil rights lawsuit calling killings by police a 'public health crisis' - CNN
Travon Brown cross burning: White neighbor James Brown arrested after Marion, Va., Black Lives Matter march - The Washington Post
Exclusive: U.S. FBI is leading an inquiry into the Twitter hack, sources say - Reuters
The Twitter Hack Could Have Been Much Worse—and Maybe Was - Wired
Twitter hack presages a bumpy election - Axios
Zuckerberg says he's been disappointed by Trump's handling of Covid-19 - CNBC
Baseless Wayfair Child-Trafficking Theory Spreads Online - Voice of America
15 female Redskins employees allege sexual harassment while with team - The Washington Post
GOP to Trump: Change tune on mail-in voting or risk ugly November - CNNPolitics
Supreme Court won't block Florida law limiting felons' voting rights - Axios
Supreme Court deals blow to felons in Florida seeking to regain the right to vote - The Washington Post
Supreme Court allows limits on felon voting in Florida - Politico
Skid Row's Sebastian Bach: 'If you support Donald Trump, you stand against rock 'n' roll' - Yahoo
Justice Ginsburg says cancer has returned, but won't retire - AP News
Almost 600K vote in Hong Kong pro-democracy primaries in protest against new security law - The Hill
Trump signs bill sanctioning China over Hong Kong security law - Axios
U.S. says most of China's claims in South China Sea are unlawful - NBC News
US warship challenges China in South China Sea after claims rejection - Business Insider
China’s own records debunk ‘historic rights’ over disputed seas - Al Jazeera
Thank you for all that you have done to bring real (hopeful) news to the world.