Wildfires claim a Michelin-three-star restaurant and multiple wineries in Napa Valley

The Restaurant at Meadowood was one of Napa Valley’s iconic establishments, a Michelin-three-star destination inside a posh resort in St. Helena, Calif., that drew celebrities and wine lovers from around the world. On Monday, it was destroyed by wildfire that began spreading through the region’s famed wine country on Sunday and has since leveled homes and businesses and resulted in at least three deaths. Fire crews arrived at the resort in the afternoon and attempted to save the structure, draining the resort’s swimming pools to battle the blaze, according to local news reports. Photos posted by those on the scene later showed the restaurant leveled, except for its staircase and brick fireplaces, though other buildings on the property remained. Guests and staff had been evacuated the day before, a spokesman for Meadowood’s parent company told the Bay Area News Group. He said the families that own the property plan to rebuild. “Whatever it takes to rebuild and reopen, we’ll do,” he said. Christopher Kostow, the restaurant’s lauded executive chef, posted a lament on Instagram in which he paid tribute to the staff and guests of the restaurant, which was often referred to by its acronym, TRAM. “We are all torn apart,” he wrote in a caption accompanying a photo of the staff. “A Eulogy is deserved, and will be given in due time … for now, I want to thank all of the TRAMily that have ever graced this magical space — and all of the guests over the years who have enjoyed the efforts of these multitudes.” Guests and fellow chefs who had celebrated birthdays, anniversaries and engagements at the restaurant took to social media to mourn the destruction and share stories of outstanding meals. “I had some of the best and most memorable times of my life at this restaurant,” wrote Chris Ying, co-founder of the former Lucky Peach magazine. “I can’t bear to see photos of it burning.” Former “Top Chef” contestant Nicholas Elmi praised Kostow in an Instagram post. “The tragedy that is unfolding on the west coast is harrowing as we’ve just lost one of, if not the best restaurants in America,” the Philadelphia chef and restaurateur wrote. Meadowood was established in the 1960s as a country club and was eventually converted into a luxe getaway. Its restaurant was awarded three-Michelin-star status in 2010, putting it in an exclusive club; there are only 14 other


As colleges reopened, many more young people got covid-19, CDC reports

Covid-19 cases surged nationally among 18- to 22-year-olds between Aug. 2 and Sept. 5, according to a report released Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which urged young adults as well as colleges and universities to take precautions to prevent the spread of the virus. Weekly cases among the age group jumped 55 percent across the country during that time and made up a bigger share of overall cases, according to the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The agency said the increase in cases couldn’t fully be explained by ramped-up testing as colleges reopened for the fall. The Northeast saw the biggest spike in virus cases among 18- to 22-year-olds, with a 144 percent increase. Cases in the Midwest among that age group also rose dramatically, with a 123 percent increase. Also on Tuesday, a public university in North Carolina mourned the death of a student from complications that followed a covid-19 diagnosis. As colleges across the country resume classes this fall, the incidence of virus cases is being closely watched to see if universities are increasing the spread of the novel coronavirus — and what students and school officials can do to try to prevent that. About 45 percent of 18- to 22-year-olds are enrolled in college, according to the CDC. Colleges have crafted a wide array of plans, including efforts to starkly reduce communal housing, ramp up testing and persuade students to keep their distance from others. Some schools have seen case numbers in the thousands, while others report just a handful. The CDC also examined the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which saw a dramatic spike in cases at the beginning of the semester. Communal housing and student gatherings both on and off campus probably contributed to the clusters of cases, the agency concluded in a separate report released Tuesday. The swift spread of the disease at the school “underscores the urgent need to implement comprehensive mitigation strategies,” according to the report. The CDC did not name the university, but school officials confirmed Wednesday that it was UNC-Chapel Hill. Universities should take enhanced precautions to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, the agency recommended, including reducing the number of people living in dorms, ensuring people are complying with public health guidelines, increasing testing for the virus and discouraging students from gathering in groups. Preventing spread of the coronavirus at universities


students in dorms. Still, 5,800 students lived on campus, and many more lived nearby in and around Chapel Hill. And just a week after classes began, faced with a spike in cases among students at three dorms and a fraternity house, school officials announced a reversal and implementation of all-virtual instruction. “As one of the first universities to open and face challenges, we wanted to share the information gained from our COVID-19 experience with other universities to learn from,” Audrey E. Pettifor, an epidemiologist at the Gillings School of Global Public Health at UNC-Chapel Hill and one of the authors of the CDC report, said in a written statement Wednesday. “Clearly this pattern of universities opening and then seeing infections is taking place across the country.” “Working closely with campus health, UNC faculty, UNC hospitals, Orange County Health Department, the North Carolina State Health Department and the CDC is an important part of learning in situations like this,” the statement said. “As a result we are building stronger systems for dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and future pandemics.” A spokesman for North Carolina State University, which executed a similarly abrupt pivot days after UNC amid rising numbers of coronavirus cases on campus, did not immediately respond to a respond to a request for comment. On Tuesday, the chancellor of Appalachian State University in western North Carolina announced that a student, Chad Dorrill, had died after suffering from complications of covid-19. His family told the university he had been diagnosed with the coronavirus this month while taking online classes and living off campus near school, went home to recover but suffered complications after returning to Boone, N.C., where the school is located. “His family’s wishes are for the university to share a common call to action,” Sheri Everts, Appalachian State’s chancellor, said in a statement, “so our entire campus community recognizes the importance of following COVID-19 safety protocols and guidelines.” University of North Carolina System President Peter Hans echoed Everts’s call to remain vigilant with safety behaviors. “Any loss of life is a tragedy,” Hans said in a statement, “but the grief cuts especially deep as we mourn a young man who had so much life ahead.” Everts said many had told the student’s family that “I wear my mask for Chad.” “Please let us all honor Chad and his contributions” Everts wrote, “by taking care of ourselves and our community.”


In Japan, a revolutionary response to the pandemic: Better work-life balance

States. Now he wants to imagine a totally different way of working for Japanese. In Japanese mythology, Awaji was the first Japanese island to be created by the gods. Today, it’s a tourist destination, famous for its flower fields, food, hot springs and the site of the nation’s oldest shrine. Among other diversions: the world’s first Godzilla museum and an anime-themed amusement park. Nambu’s children and grandchildren have already moved to the island, and he spends most of his time working from the company’s office there, only coming into Tokyo for important meetings. He said employees are already putting up their hands to move. A government survey carried out between January and March showed nearly half the residents of central Tokyo were “interested” in moving away from urban areas, although only 2 percent were actually planning to do so in the next year. The idea isn’t new. Japan’s government has long set regional revitalization as a priority, and it’s an idea keenly favored by Yoshihide Suga, the new prime minister. Yet it hasn’t managed to achieve much to reverse what seems like an inexorable trend. In 1950, 53 percent of Japan’s population lived in urban areas, but by 2018, about 92 percent did. As Japan’s population shrinks, the rural population is expected to decline by an estimated 4.9 million, or 46 percent, by 2050, according to the United Nations. Rochelle Kopp, a management consultant based in Fukuoka in western Japan, said widespread corporate moves in the country are not likley. “What I see happening more than a headquarters change is companies letting people work from home,” she said. “Probably a lot of companies are going to let employees go into the office one or two days a week.” That may allow more people to live in coastal or rural districts just outside Tokyo and commute in occasionally, she said. Other possibilities include working from home, but having teams meet once a fiscal quarter for social gatherings. The government, meanwhile, has pushed the idea of “workation” — working remotely from vacation resorts. “These are the kind of things that people are starting to daydream about, ideas that wouldn’t have been crossing anyone’s minds a year ago,” Kopp said. “We may see a lot of these creative things, but I’m not so sure we’re going to see other companies picking up thousands of people and putting them in the middle of nowhere.”


Khashoggi supporters launch group to advocate for democratic rights in the Arab world

ISTANBUL — Supporters of Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi journalist murdered by his government's agents two years ago, launched an organization Tuesday aimed at promoting human rights and democracy in the Arab world. They said this mission was dear to Khashoggi, who by the end of his life was one the region's most visible exiles and dissidents. He established the nonprofit organization, called Democracy for the Arab World Now, shortly before his death, but the group has remained dormant since then. His supporters said Tuesday it would expose abuses by governments in the Middle East, and in particular U.S.-allied nations such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt — three of the Trump administration’s closest Arab partners. Khashoggi set up the group “based on his belief that only democracy and freedom will bring lasting peace and security to the Middle East and North Africa,” Sarah Leah Whitson, the organization’s executive director, said during a virtual news conference. “We are going to uphold Jamal’s legacy,” she said. Khashoggi was killed Oct. 2, 2018, after visiting Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul to obtain documents that would allow him to marry. He walked into the mission despite the risk. In the months that preceded that visit, he had been writing columns in The Washington Post that were sharply critical of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who effectively rules Saudi Arabia and shows no patience for rivals or subjects who speak up. The journalist’s murder and dismemberment, revealed in gruesome detail by Turkey’s government, set off a wave of international outrage and calls to ostracize the Saudi leadership. The kingdom’s efforts to rehabilitate its image have included promoting domestic social reforms and opening Saudi Arabia more widely to outsiders, including by granting tourist visas. The kingdom prosecuted people it said were Khashoggi’s killers, but court sessions were closed to the public, and no senior officials were held to account. President Trump has remained one of Mohammed’s most stalwart advocates. This year Saudi Arabia will host the G-20 leaders summit, in another sign that Western governments have moved past the controversy over the killing. Even as Saudi Arabia has mended its alliances, its critics have shown signs of becoming more organized — galvanized in significant part by Khashoggi’s death. Last week, exiled Saudi dissidents announced the formation of new political party, called the National Assembly Party, which called for the kingdom “to wholeheartedly adopt


New report underscores conditions that made Prince George’s vulnerable to covid-19

Long before Prince George’s County reported the highest number of coronavirus cases in Maryland, the conditions that would make the majority-Black suburb vulnerable to the virus were present, according to a report released Tuesday. Overcrowded housing, high rates of uninsurance and preexisting health conditions are all more prevalent in the county than in the state and are concentrated in communities that have been hit particularly hard by covid-19, the report by the Rand Corp. said. The nonprofit think tank — hired by the Prince George’s County Council two years ago to assess the health of county residents and make recommendations about how to improve it — also found that the county historically has invested less than neighboring jurisdictions in health and human services, and it recommended that the government study how it allocates such funding. County Council Chair Todd M. Turner (D-District 4) said lawmakers are committed to using the findings to move toward a “health in all policies” approach that would lead every county agency — from the school system to the police — to consider ways to improve residents’ health. “It provides us a strong foundation moving forward,” Turner said in an interview. “The biggest hurdle is going to be what fiscal opportunity we have in light of covid-19.” The novel coronavirus has severely affected Prince George’s, where 61 percent of residents are Black, 19 percent are Hispanic and 12 percent are White. The county far surpasses the rest of Maryland when it comes to reported cases, with 29,416 infections as of Tuesday, and has reported the second-highest number of deaths in the state, after the more populous Montgomery County. Within the county, the Zip code with the highest number of coronavirus cases is 20783, which includes Hyattsville, parts of College Park, Langley Park, Beltsville and Adelphi. More than 50 percent of those residents are Hispanic, and 35 percent are noncitizen immigrants. That mirrors trends throughout the region and the country showing that Latinos have contracted the coronavirus at alarmingly high rates, although their fatality rate remains lower than for Black Americans. Experts say Latinos appear especially vulnerable because they are more likely to work in service industries and live in intergenerational homes. The Rand report homed in on housing, noting that overcrowded housing conditions are associated with a variety of medical issues, including respiratory problems and trouble sleeping. During the pandemic, it also means that if one


to be what fiscal opportunity we have in light of covid-19.” The novel coronavirus has severely affected Prince George’s, where 61 percent of residents are Black, 19 percent are Hispanic and 12 percent are White. The county far surpasses the rest of Maryland when it comes to reported cases, with 29,416 infections as of Tuesday, and has reported the second-highest number of deaths in the state, after the more populous Montgomery County. Within the county, the Zip code with the highest number of coronavirus cases is 20783, which includes Hyattsville, parts of College Park, Langley Park, Beltsville and Adelphi. More than 50 percent of those residents are Hispanic, and 35 percent are noncitizen immigrants. That mirrors trends throughout the region and the country showing that Latinos have contracted the coronavirus at alarmingly high rates, although their fatality rate remains lower than for Black Americans. Experts say Latinos appear especially vulnerable because they are more likely to work in service industries and live in intergenerational homes. The Rand report homed in on housing, noting that overcrowded housing conditions are associated with a variety of medical issues, including respiratory problems and trouble sleeping. During the pandemic, it also means that if one family member contracts the coronavirus, the infection is likely to rapidly spread within the household. The report found that rates of overcrowding were particularly high in Council District 2, which includes Mount Rainier, Hyattsville and Langley Park. Sixteen percent of households were considered overcrowded, compared with 5 percent throughout the county and a statewide average of 2.8 percent. The report’s authors found that shortages of primary-care physicians and a lack of county spending on health and human services are compounding the health problems of its residents. Prince George’s has 1.33 pediatricians per 100,000 residents, compared with 4.55 in Montgomery County, 5.33 in Howard County and 2.5 in Baltimore County. The county invests $39 per person on health and human services — compared with $91 in Anne Arundel, $224 in Montgomery and $45 in Baltimore County — and relies heavily on grants, which are typically short-term and come with restrictions, which can hurt programming and staff recruitment and retention. During a council meeting Tuesday, council member Dannielle M. Glaros (D-District 3), who in recent years has called for more funding for the Health Department, described the report as a “call to action.” “I really hope we see movement,” Glaros said. “I


SpaceX is reinforcing heat shield of its Dragon spacecraft ahead of planned October flight

As it prepares for its second human spaceflight mission next month, SpaceX has redesigned a small portion of its spacecraft’s heat shield in addition to making a few other refinements to the Dragon capsule. After a successful test flight that ended when NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico on Aug. 2, the company noticed “a little more erosion than we wanted to see” in a few areas of the capsule’s heat shield, Hans Koenigsmann, SpaceX’s vice president of build and flight reliability, said during a press call this week. He said there “was nothing to be concerned with at all times. The astronauts were safe, and the vehicle was working perfectly.” The heat shield is a vital component of the spacecraft that protects the astronauts as they plunge through the thickening atmosphere, creating temperatures that reach as high as 3,500 degrees Fahrenheit. Still, the news of the heat shield redesign was concerning to some. “It’s probably just me — a product of the dark days I lived through — but I get shivers when a hear that human spacecraft heatshield showed unexpected degraded performance and requires ‘minor’ modification,” former Space Shuttle flight director Wayne Hale wrote on Twitter, recalling the tragedy of the Columbia, which came apart during reentry. “Yes, that gives me shivers. Be thorough. Do good work.” In addition to reinforcing the part of the heat shield, Koenigsmann said the company is refining how it measures the capsule’s altitude as it returns to Earth. During the August test flight, the drogue parachutes deployed at a slightly lower altitude than the company expected, but still well within safety parameters, he said. Finally, SpaceX and NASA are working with the Coast Guard to create a 10-mile “keep-out zone” around the spacecraft once its splashes down in the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico. During the test mission, recreational boats swarmed the vehicle, still loaded with volatile propellant, after it landed in the Gulf of Mexico, creating a safety hazard. “We’re going to have more boats on the next go-round, and make sure that the area is really clear of any other boats,” Koenigsmann said. The test mission saw Hurley and Behnken spend two months on the International Space Station before their return. Now SpaceX is scheduled to launch a crew of four astronauts — three Americans and one Japanese — in the


Virus’s unseen hot zone: The American farm

migrant labor system, which relies on approximately 220,000 workers on seasonal H-2A work visas and another estimated 1.5 million undocumented workers largely from Mexico and other Latin American countries, leaves workers with few protections and exposed to the virus, advocates say. Planting, harvesting and packing produce typically put farmworkers in proximity with co-workers. Laborers often rely on employers for transport, usually in vans and buses, and accommodation in crowded, camp-style housing, according to Ed Kissam, a former California farm labor researcher who has been tracking the impact of the coronavirus on farmworker communities. And workers’ very transience, harvesting six weeks here and eight weeks there, presents problems for tracing and disincentives for local governments to invest in solutions; wait long enough and seasonal workers become someone else’s problem. The effects of the coronavirus frequently overlay a system in which growers have routinely failed to protect workers while on the job — offering them substandard transportation, housing and access to health care and testing, Kissam said. “Virtually all are housed in congregate living situations, making them extremely vulnerable to covid-19 transmission,” he said. “Typically, 40 to 80 percent of the people living in crowded living quarters — congregate housing or individual crowded housing — will be infected by others they live with once the infection is introduced from workplace or community infection.” Tracking the spread of the coronavirus among farmworkers is further complicated by language barriers and worker mistrust of authorities, Villarejo said. In addition, farm laborers are often afraid to get tested for fear of being deported, losing their jobs or of being left with large hospital bills. Using Monterey County’s official coronavirus dashboard, Villarejo found that as of July 1, agricultural workers in the county had 1,410 positive cases per 100,000 population, about three times the rate for other workers, which was 455 cases per 100,000. He said he anticipates the prevalence among farmworkers has increased substantially since then. The Department of Agricultural Economics at Purdue University, in collaboration with Microsoft, estimates 128,000 farmworkers nationwide have tested positive for the coronavirus, as of Sept. 24. But Jayson Lusk, a professor of agricultural economics at Purdue, says their dashboard could be a dramatic undercount as it does not include part-time and temporary workers. By comparison, 42,988 meatpacking workers have tested positive for the novel coronavirus in 498 meat plants as of Sept. 24, according to an analysis by the Food


Mexico is open to tourists. Here’s what locals want you to know before you go.

Americans willing to travel abroad have limited options. Their passport, which once unlocked access to most of the world, is now hindering them from moving freely as countries watch coronavirus cases rise in the United States. But one of America’s most popular travel destinations remains open and available: Mexico. While the State Department recommends people “reconsider” travel to Mexico because of the coronavirus, and nonessential travel across land borders is still restricted, discounted flights have been tempting Americans throughout the pandemic. According to data from the travel booking company CheapCaribbean.com, Mexico now makes up 70 percent of the company’s bookings, up 20 percent from the pre-covid-19 era. SkyScanner data has shown Cancún as one of the most-searched destinations for fall travel. But do Mexicans want Americans to visit during the pandemic? We spoke with people who work in hospitality and tourism there to find out what they want Americans to know before booking a trip. Before the pandemic, Andrea Villela says a major selling point for her mezcal business, La Fiera Mezcal, was the intimacy of the tasting sessions at her home in Mexico City. Now those personal touches, like home-cooked meals and lingering conversations, can feel like a risk. She’s now limiting tastings to groups of four, taking their temperature when they arrive, providing Lysol wipes and wearing a mask as she hosts the experience. Although she relies on travelers for her business, she says, it’s still too early for Americans to be visiting. “I know I can get the virus not only from tourists — I can get the virus here in the city,” Villela says. “I don’t feel like I have more chance to get the virus by hosting a group of people than from going to downtown in peak rush hour, even with my protection.” Her advice to travelers who still decide to come to Mexico is to avoid small towns, where Villela says there is a lot of coronavirus misinformation and a lack of resources. “They don’t have hospitals, and people are getting really, really sick,” she says. David Alvarado, a Mexican American producer and creative consultant living in Mexico City, says he’s 100 percent against Americans visiting Mexico at this time and regularly tells friends not to plan trips yet. “I run into Americans always here on vacation who are not wearing masks, who don’t take the locals and their health into consideration,” he


says. “I don’t even think they’re aware of the lack of resources available to Mexico right now in the middle of this pandemic.” It’s a double-edged sword: Alvarado recognizes that tourism is an economic lifeline and that there’s no government support for those not working, but he’s also wary of what a second wave could do to the country. “There are not a lot of government funds going into testing and providing resources. If you get someone sick, you directly impact their economic livelihood,” he says. “[Americans are] coming here no matter what, so just be mindful of how vulnerable a lot of people are here." Mexico City chef Maycoll Calderón says he has burned through his personal savings to pay his bar and restaurant employees’s salaries throughout the pandemic. Per the city’s coronavirus restrictions, he can only allow up to 30 percent occupancy in his establishments, so to help make up for lost revenue, he started a handmade-pasta delivery service and also teaches online cooking classes. Calderón doesn’t discourage visitors to Mexico because he feels the country is handling its coronavirus outbreak better than the United States. “The economy in Mexico depends on tourism, not only in hotels but restaurants and everything else,” Calderón says. “To tell the truth I recommend everybody come to Mexico because everywhere you go, hotels, restaurants, even sites that you want to visit, everybody is conscious to protect themselves. Everybody tests your temperature, gives you [hand sanitizer]. Everybody is trying to do their best to make the situation not spread even more.” Bill Esparza, the James Beard award-winning author of the book “L.A. Mexicano” and co-founder of the food-tour company Club Tengo Hambre, says visitors are welcome in his eyes but should know they’re coming at their own risk. Having traveled throughout Mexico during the pandemic, Esparza, who lives in Los Angeles but travels to Mexico regularly for work, found that coronavirus precautions varied from state to state. Some Mexican communities were entirely closed to outsiders, some had strict curfews, and others seemed to not have any restrictions. He says overall, people are just figuring out how to make it through the crisis, including his tour guides. “People are anxious to work, and, of course, they’re taking their own precautions,” he says. “We’re here to safely take people around, and the vendors want customers. They want to sell tacos, and restaurants want to sell


National Zoo panda cub gets its first vet checkup

Panda keepers and veterinarians finally got an extended look recently at the cub born August 21 at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington. Mom Mei Xiang (pronounced may-SHONG) left the small den September 19, and zookeepers were able to take the cub just outside the enclosure for a physical exam. The cub has quickly grown much larger than the butterstick giant pandas are often compared with at birth. It weighed a little more than two pounds and measured 13.4 inches long, zoo staff said. It’s not obvious this early whether the cub is female or male, so veterinarian James Steeil swabbed inside its mouth to get DNA, genetic material that will reveal the sex of the cub. The zoo expects to share the news in a few weeks. The cub, which was pinkish-white at birth, is starting to look more like a panda, with large patches of black-and-white fur. Its eyes were closed, as they have been since birth, but one eye was starting to open. Steeil listened to its heart and lungs, felt its stomach, and checked its arm and leg movements. He pronounced the cub to be in good health. Mei Xiang was soon reunited with the cub, which made several loud squeals during the exam. The pair are expected to remain off public view for a couple of months. The cub’s siblings — Tai Shan, Bao Bao and Bei Bei — met the public when they were 4 or 5 months old. Panda fans don’t need to wait until then to see the pair. You can watch and listen to mom and cub anytime on the Giant Panda Cam at national zoo.si.edu/webcams/panda-cam. Mei sometimes keeps the cub cradled close, but with a little patience you may see the two lying nose to nose in a snuggle.


‘You’re still my baby’: Hong Kong mother pleads for son held in mainland China after desperate boat escape

HONG KONG — Growing up, Li Tsz-yin was typical of the young men in this city, his parents say. He played video games and basketball. He spent his mid-20s in Hong Kong's cavernous malls and movie theaters. He loved animals, especially his two cats and the stray cows he would feed in country parks. Li had his political awakening in 2014, as a participant in the Umbrella Movement. The 79-day street occupation failed in its goal of universal suffrage but inspired a new generation of Hong Kongers to join the democratic movement. His contribution was to obtain his first-aid certification and when protests broke out again in June 2019, Li was on the front lines treating the injured and dousing with saline the stinging eyes ravaged by tear gas. “I think he just loves Hong Kong so much,” his father said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to protect his privacy and security. “He wants to fight for justice and democracy in his home.” It has been more than 30 days since anyone has heard from or seen Li and the 11 other Hong Kong residents between the ages of 16 and 33. They are being held incommunicado in Shenzhen after the Chinese coast guard intercepted their speedboat as they were fleeing to Taiwan. Hong Kong police in a statement late Saturday said the 12, who have been detained since Aug. 23, are in the custody of the Yantian branch of the Shenzhen Public Security Bureau, which will soon formally arrest them. Their arrest under Chinese law would mean that the 12 will be absorbed deeper into the mainland’s legal system, which critics describe as politically influenced, opaque, and rife with delays and almost-certain convictions. With the help of prominent activists in the city, their families are demanding that Hong Kong authorities intervene and seek their return. “I feel like we are doing all we can, but the Hong Kong government is paying no attention to us, and instead playing us over and over again,” said Li’s mother, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect her privacy and security and who is part of a support group with families of several of the other detainees. “All I can hope for is a miracle, so that my son can immediately be returned to Hong Kong.” Li’s parents were watching live streams of an unauthorized protest on Sept. 29


The Future Reset: Accelerating Progress for Women & Girls

champion of health for all. Internationally known as “Africa’s Iron Lady,” Nobel Peace Laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is a leading promoter of freedom, peace, justice, women’s empowerment, and democratic rule. As Africa’s first democratically elected female head of state, she led Liberia through reconciliation and recovery following the nation’s decade-long civil war, as well as the Ebola crisis, winning international acclaim for achieving economic, social, and political change. Madam Sirleaf was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011 for her contribution to “securing peace in Liberia, to promoting economic and social development, and to strengthening the position of women.” She is a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom—the United States’ highest civilian award—for her personal courage and unwavering commitment to expanding freedom and improving the lives of Africans. Other honors include receiving the Grand Croix of the Légion d’Honneur, France’s highest public distinction; being named one of Forbes “100 Most Powerful Women in the World”; and being the first woman to receive the Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership. In 2018, she founded the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center for Women and Development (EJS Center), an institution dedicated to advancing and sustaining women’s political and social development on the African continent. Madam Sirleaf has written widely on financial, development, and human rights issues, and in 2008 she published her critically acclaimed memoir, This Child Will Be Great. She is the proud mother of four sons and grandmother of 12. Dr. Shah brings over twenty years of experience in business, government, and philanthropy to The Rockefeller Foundation, a global institution with an unparalleled track record of success carrying out its founding mission: to promote the well-being of humanity around the world. Over its century long history, the Rockefeller Foundation has embraced scientific frontiers to lift up vulnerable children and families. Pat Mitchell is the co-founder, curator and host of TEDWomen. Throughout her career as a journalist, Emmy-winning producer and ground breaking executive, she focused on elevating women’s stories and increasing their representation everywhere. She is chair of the Sundance Institute and the Women’s Media Center boards and a trustee of the VDAY movement, the Skoll Foundation and the Woodruff Arts Center. She is an advisor to Participant Media and served as a congressional appointment to The American Museum of Women’s History Advisory Council. She is the author of Becoming a Dangerous Woman: Embracing Risk to Change the World.


U.S. Speedskating found a coach was ‘threatening’ athletes — and let her keep coaching

in a position of authority over the skaters.” U.S. Speedskating implemented a number of measures in response, according to the same letter: requiring a third party be present for all coach-athlete meetings; ongoing “team culture meetings” without Boomstra present “for feedback purposes”; and required meetings between Boomstra and a sports psychologist “on athlete communication and separation of coaching and personal relationships.” In addition, Boomstra is required to consult with the short-track program director before making any decisions that affect athletes, and she will be evaluated quarterly by U.S. Speedskating. “My takeaway and what I conveyed to Wilma was that athletes have changed over the last 20 years, and you got a young group of athletes here, and you need to evolve the way you communicate with them and motivate them,” Morris said. “We’re going to do everything in our power to give you the resources and the tools to get better at that.” Schoutens said the Athlete Advisory Council will continue to monitor the situation, too, checking in every three to fourth months for signs of progress. “We recognize that if even one athlete feels like they’re experiencing inappropriate coaching, that’s one too many,” she said. Most of the short-track athletes are now in Utah, preparing for the fall season and a final push for the Beijing Olympics. Morris held a team meeting with them Friday without Boomstra. He laid out the reform measures now in place and reiterated his support for the coach, according to two people present. Hong was not there. He’s back home in Maryland, still sorting out his future. For now, he has no plans to resume serious training and is preparing for the fall semester at the University of Maryland. “I’m still figuring things out,” he said. “I haven’t officially retired. But the last year was difficult. It was by far the worst I’d ever experienced. It’s something that no one should have to go through.” Correction: A previous version of this story described Boomstra as the former coach of the national short-track speedskating team. Though U.S. Speedskating did describe Boomstra as the former coach in announcing her hire, she was actually the coach of its developmental team. Read more: With Olympics postponed, Katie Ledecky focuses on educating herself — and others For youth sports organizers, the right call has never been more elusive or important U.S. Olympic officials resort to layoffs amid grim projections


NASA astronauts aboard SpaceX capsule heading to a splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico

Recently, they had another reminder. Behnken’s wife, Megan McArthur, also a NASA astronaut, was recently chosen to fly on a SpaceX flight in the spring of 2021. To prepare, she spent a few days this week at the company’s headquarters. In many ways, returning to Earth is more perilous than escaping it. Getting to orbit requires an enormous amount of energy. The spacecraft goes from sitting still atop the rocket on the launchpad to chasing the space station at 17,500 mph in a matter of minutes. Coming home requires doing the reverse, shedding all that energy quickly. Friction with the thickening atmosphere will generate an enormous amount of heat that will engulf the spacecraft in a fireball. “Out the window, it’s all orange, and it’s glowing, and it’s quite a sight,” said Garrett Reisman, a former NASA astronaut who flew two shuttle missions. “But you don’t feel anything. You know you don’t want to be out there because its thousands of degrees, but on the inside it’s pretty cool. It’s very comfortable.” In mission control on the ground, NASA and SpaceX officials won’t be comfortable. As the fireball envelops the spacecraft, testing the heat shield, communication with the astronauts will be lost. The blackout will last approximately six minutes, but it will feel much longer. During Apollo 13, the nearly catastrophic mission, the blackout went on for what seemed like forever, said Gerry Griffin, a legendary former flight director at NASA during the Apollo era. The capcom, the person in mission control communicating with the astronauts, “kept calling Apollo 13. ’This is Houston,’” he recalled. “And nothing. He went on for two minutes. You could hear a pin drop in that control center.” Unlike the shuttle, which landed on a runway, the Dragon spacecraft is something of a throwback, a capsule that will land in water under parachutes. Parachutes are an old technology but a tricky one, and SpaceX has struggled with their design. Last year, it suffered a failure during a test of the parachute system that ultimately prompted the company to upgrade the design. The upgraded version uses a stronger material in the lines that run to the canopy and a new stitching intended to handle the loads at deployment. “Parachutes are way harder than they look,” Musk said in an interview with The Post in the days leading up to the launch. “The Apollo program actually had


A missed chance to reshape our relationship with Saudi Arabia

The U.S. government missed an unique opportunity to reshape our long and complicated relationship with Saudi Arabia. All President Trump had to do was hold Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman accountable for the brutal murder of journalist and Post contributing columnist Jamal Khashoggi two years ago. But Trump refused to do so, and U.S. interests and the Saudi people will pay a heavy price because of it. Lessening our reliance on Saudi Arabia has quietly been a strategic priority for many in the U.S. foreign policy community since 9/11, but a constant stream of Saudi money flowing into Washington has long obscured that goal. Our decreasing appetite for Middle Eastern oil, however, kept the prospect of a more balanced relationship tenable. Now there is literally no resource, natural or strategic, that we need from Saudi Arabia that can’t be sourced somewhere else. But Trump’s transactional approach to every matter made it obvious he had no interest in limiting Saudi influence in Washington. (Remember the glowing orb?) Khashoggi’s gruesome killing and the subsequent sloppy coverup created a window to scrutinize this alliance anew. Trump not only missed it, we now know he actively tried to subvert it. The depravity of luring an exiled dissident to a third country to murder him inside a consulate shocked the world. Khashoggi was a well-respected journalist with deep relationships in media and policy circles. But as horrific details emerged and official Saudi denials of culpability became more farcical, the story took on a different significance, begging the question: Is Saudi Arabia an ally the United States can trust? With King Salman’s health failing, MBS could ascend to the throne as a very young man. If the impunity of his unpardonable crime is allowed to continue, future U.S. administrations will have decades to regret not punishing him. There has been a sustained international campaign calling for justice, weakening the royal thug’s standing around the world. These efforts have effectively undermined MBS’s attempts to whitewash the kingdom’s history of abusing power that preceded him and put to rest any debate of whether he’s a credible reformer. Outside the administration, there are still key American political figures who believe there must be justice — even among Trump’s most reliable enablers. “This gruesome episode is not exactly the change one was hoping for when it comes to Saudi Arabia’s behavior,” Sen. Lindsey O. Graham wrote in a series of


The U.S. may be readying drone strikes in Kenya. That might increase the violence.

The New York Times reported in September that the U.S. Africa Command (Africom) seeks authorization to conduct drone attacks in Kenya against Somalia-based terrorist group al-Shabab. If President Trump and the Defense Department approved the move, that could represent a significant escalation in U.S. military activities in a region already beset by a complex history of violence. The request is reportedly a response to a January al-Shabab attack on a U.S. military base located in the Kenyan coastal county of Lamu that killed one American soldier and two U.S. defense contractors. Approval of the authorization request would give the U.S. military the ability to conduct drone strikes in Lamu and Garissa, two-Muslim majority Kenyan counties that border Somalia. Considering the history of security agencies’ human rights violations, drones usage risk further deepening historical grievances in the region. It also comes at a crucial moment for neighboring Somalia, which is gearing up for elections as well as the drawdown of an African Union peacebuilding mission in the country. The expansion of drone strikes into a new country would be a turning point in U.S. military action in the East and Horn of Africa region. To some analysts this moves U.S. engagement closer to the “forever wars” that have characterized post-9/11 military action in other parts of the world. The regions at issue are at the center of Kenya’s counterterrorism efforts. Since commencing a military invasion of Somalia in 2011 to curb the threat of al-Shabab, Kenya has conducted significant domestic counterterrorism operations in both Garissa and Lamu counties. Human rights groups accuse the Kenyan Anti-Terror Police Unit of committing extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances and torture. Al-Shabab then used Kenya’s government security practices as recruitment propaganda. In April 2015, one of the deadliest al-Shabab attacks in Kenya left 148 people, mostly students, dead at Garissa University College. In 2014, the group killed at least 48 people in Mpeketoni, a town in Lamu county. However, counterterrorism efforts have thus far failed to address historical grievances and marginalization in northern and coastal Kenya. Northeastern Kenya, including Garissa county, has a predominantly ethnically Somali population. A British-created commission, created before independence to assess northeasterners’ views, found most of the population significantly preferred unity with Somalia, instead of being part of Kenya. Kenya’s independence leaders strongly rejected any proposals to split this area from Kenya, which led to an insurgency. Kenyan Somalis fought to secede from


The Health 202: The coronavirus pandemic has hurt Medicare's hospital program

writes. Recent research has underscored that the coronavirus is what’s known as an “overdispersed pathogen,” which means it tends to spread in clusters. “There are COVID-19 incidents in which a single person likely infected 80 percent or more of the people in the room in just a few hours. But, at other times, COVID-19 can be surprisingly much less contagious,” Tufecki writes. “A growing number of studies estimate that a majority of infected people may not infect a single other person.” This makes the coronavirus different from the flu, which tends to spread in a fairly steady manner. It also makes it harder to draw conclusions by comparing the relative trajectories of different cities or countries, given that a few unlucky super-spreading events can dramatically change the course of a disease. There are, however, practical takeaways for combating an overdispersed pathogen. When it comes to contact tracing, public health officials probably will get far more bang for their buck doing backward tracing — trying to discover the source of an outbreak, which may be a superspreading event — rather than spending scarce resources trying to warn everyone who may have come into contact with a given positive individual. Likewise, less sensitive antigen tests for the virus or tests of wastewater to identify outbreaks could be crucial tools in catching and controlling clusters. While we still don’t know all the factors that lead to superspreader events, we do know that they are likely to occur in places “where the three C’s come together—crowds in closed spaces in close contact,” Tufecki writes. Countries that have prioritized preventing outbreaks in these settings have often done better at controlling the virus. More than 50 companies and academic teams are working on developing monoclonal antibodies for the coronavirus. The hope is that these laboratory-made antibodies could help prevent the disease in people who have been exposed or serve a treatment that reduces the severity and duration of covid-19, Carolyn Y. Johnson reports. The biotechnology firm Regeneron reported on Tuesday that its drug appeared to reduce viral load and relieve symptoms in people recently diagnosed with covid-19 who were not in the hospital. The problem is that, even if monoclonal antibodies prove effective, there won’t be enough. “Unlike conventional pills, these are expensive, injectable drugs synthesized by living organisms in specialized reactors, at a biological cadence that can’t be rushed,” Carolyn writes. Companies are scrambling to


France announces new coronavirus restrictions as covid-19 cases rise

PARIS — The French government Thursday announced a set of measures it said it was ready to impose to contain a rapid resurgence of the coronavirus. For weeks, the country has relied on a regional system to implement restrictions in areas where transmission rates of the virus are high. On Thursday, Health Minister Olivier Véran said Paris could soon join the “maximum” risk category, which would mean another complete shutdown of bars, restaurants and cafes. Some cities, notably Marseille, are already on the list. Paris so far has avoided further restrictions since a lockdown was lifted in mid-May. But Véran said that in the last 24 hours, the capital crossed multiple thresholds that make it a maximum-risk environment: The transmission rate has risen above 250 cases per 100,000, and the percentage of those who’ve tested positive for the novel coronavirus who require intensive care is now hovering between 30 and 35 percent. “We have only observed this threshold crossing for a few hours — we will need to confirm it in the next few days,” Véran said during a weekly news conference. “If this were to be confirmed, we would have no other choice but to place Paris and its inner suburbs in the maximum-alert category starting on Monday.” The announcement came to the chagrin of the restaurant industry, which took a major hit in the spring when France imposed one of Europe’s strictest lockdowns. After two months, the restrictions seemed to have beaten back the coronavirus to a significant degree. A key component of that lockdown was the total closure of all bars, restaurants and cafes. The full-blown second wave France is now experiencing has many restaurateurs worried that they will not be able to survive a second shutdown. Michel Sarran, a Michelin-starred chef from Toulouse in southern France, released a video message in advance of Véran’s announcement, anticipating a potential closure of restaurants in major cities. In a country where food is a way of life, he seemed to speak for many of his fellow restaurateurs. “You are going to kill us,” he said. “How can you say that establishments like mine and so many others, which accommodate around 40 people with rigorously enforced rules, are more dangerous than shopping malls or private gatherings?” Less visible members of the food industry are also registering significant losses. On Thursday, the French catering giant Elior announced the elimination of 1,888


The Technology 202: Social networks scramble to address the aftermath of first presidential debate

Commission to investigate the data-mining company before it began trading yesterday, Alfred Ng at CNET reports. The lawmakers expressed concerns about the company's lack of transparency over its funding from the CIA, contracts with Qatar's government, data protections and shareholder structure. “Palantir reports several pieces of information about its company — and omits others — that we believe require further disclosure and examination, as they present material risks of which potential investors should be aware and national security concerns of which the public should be aware,” they wrote in a letter sent on Sept. 17 and released to reporters yesterday. Shareholder groups and human rights organizations such as Amnesty International expressed similar concerns leading up to the company's public filing. “Palantir's numerous transparency and governance issues have been flying completely under the radar as they launch their public offering,” Jacinta Gonzalez, a senior campaign organizer at immigration advocacy group Mijente, said in a statement to CNET. “We're glad Representatives Ocasio-Cortez and Garcia tasked the SEC with investigating and are eager to find out why the agency has not done so.” The House Judiciary antitrust subcommittee will hear ideas from an array of academics and policy experts today on how to restore competition online and possible avenues to strengthen antitrust law. The hearing comes as the House Judiciary Committee's long-awaited antitrust report is expected to be released as soon as next week. The Senate Commerce Committee also wants to put Big Tech in the hot seat. U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) will hold a vote this morning to authorize the subpoena of Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey, Google chief executive Sundar Pichai and Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg for a hearing on a decades-old communications law that prevents tech companies from being held liable for content posted by users. President Trump has pushed Congress to update the law, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Meanwhile, the only Section 230-related legislation to get out of the gate has finally found bipartisan sponsors for a House companion bill. Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-Tex.) and Ann Wagner (R-Mo.) introduced a House version of the Eliminating Abuse and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies (EARN IT) Act. The bill, which would strip tech companies of their legal protections if they don't follow government-issued guidelines to crack down on online child abuse, already passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Google’s new phones pare back features —


Maryland relaxes nursing home visitations as state records no virus deaths for first time since March

our highest priority.” More than a dozen businesses have applied for a permit to offer late-night alcohol sales, said Earl Stoddard, director of the county’s Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security. Restaurants will also be allowed to erect tents without permits, although county employees will ensure that they have been properly installed. The relaxed guidelines in the state come on the same day Maryland recorded its first 24-hour period since March 28 without a virus-related fatality. The rolling seven-day average of deaths has mostly held steady since mid-July, with the state this week averaging about seven deaths daily. Hogan said the drop was a positive step in the state’s battle against the pandemic, but he urged Maryland residents to remain vigilant and to continue taking health precautions. “This encouraging milestone is a tribute to the incredibly heroic efforts of our doctors, nurses, and health care workers on the front lines, and the courage and perseverance Marylanders have demonstrated in response to this unprecedented challenge,” he said in a statement. Other virus-related metrics in Maryland on Thursday painted a mixed picture. The state reported 785 new coronavirus cases — the highest in a single day since Sept. 12. The daily total was well above Maryland’s seven-day rolling average of new cases, which stood Thursday at 530. It’s the fifth consecutive day that Maryland’s average number of cases has risen after dropping to 461 daily cases about a week ago. Meanwhile, the state’s coronavirus test positivity rate stands at 2.88 percent, which is a slight increase when compared with earlier in the week. The District, Maryland and Virginia on Thursday reported 1,267 new infections and 21 additional deaths. Virginia had 450 new cases and 20 deaths, while D.C. had 32 new cases and one death. Both jurisdictions have seen a slight decline in caseloads in recent days. The seven-day average of new cases in the District, Maryland and Virginia stands at 1,313, down from more than 2,000 about two months ago. Health experts have cautioned that numbers could rise as chillier weather causes people to shift activities indoors. As economic fallout from the pandemic continued, Labor Department numbers released Thursday showed that 21,456 people in Maryland, Virginia and the District filed for unemployment benefits last week, up from 17,792 a week earlier. More than 1.5 million residents in the Washington region have sought jobless benefits since the start of the pandemic.


Millions of Americans risk losing power and water as massive, unpaid utility bills pile up

have fallen far behind on their electricity, water and gas bills, staring down the prospect of potential utility shut-offs and fast-growing debts they may never be able to repay. At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, many states acted quickly to ensure their residents would not lose their power or other utilities if their jobs or wages were slashed. Now, however, only 21 states and the District of Columbia still have such disconnection bans in place. That leaves roughly 179 million Americans at risk of losing service even as the economy continues sputtering, according to the National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association, which is tracking the moratoria. Millions more in nine other states are set to lose their protections starting Thursday and throughout the fall, the group found. Americans nationwide also appear to be racking up massive unpaid bills in the process. Electric and gas debts alone threaten to reach or exceed $24.3 billion by the end of the year, according to a new NEADA analysis, released Thursday, based on roughly two dozen states’ regulatory filings. In some cases, the delinquencies appear to be severe. In Indiana, for example, more than 112,000 households are behind 120 days or more on their power bills, a Washington Post analysis of the largest local energy companies’ records found. The debt, totaling millions of dollars, is four times greater than the arrears accrued during the same period in 2019, the data shows. “The people who were struggling before are struggling even more,” said Mark Wolfe, the NEADA’s executive director. Utility companies generally are not required to disclose how many Americans are behind on their payments, and by how much, complicating efforts to study the effects of the pandemic and craft effective policy responses. In some cases, power, water and gas providers have actively lobbied against the kind of robust shut-off moratoria that advocates say are essential. But the scattershot data and grim anecdotal tales appear to point to the same conclusion: Americans already on the financial precipice are coming even closer to the edge. Such a crisis threatens not only their health and well-being but also that of the utilities themselves, some of which are already signaling they may have to raise rates or take other drastic steps to make up for the anticipated losses. “You can’t really underestimate the burden of that debt on families,” said Khalil Shahyd, a senior policy advocate at the


Europe moves to sue Britain over breaching Brexit withdrawal deal

LONDON — The European Union launched legal action against Britain on Thursday, saying Prime Minister Boris Johnson's attempt to rewrite the Brexit withdrawal agreement was "by its very nature a breach of the obligation of good faith." In Brussels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said legislation now moving through Parliament was in “full contradiction” to Britain’s previous guarantee to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland. E.U. diplomats and policymakers have been dismayed by the British bill, viewing it as an almost absurdist culmination of years of Brexit antics, with Johnson’s government threatening to undermine an agreement it signed less than a year ago and that hasn’t even fully gone into effect. The E.U. is now sending a “letter of formal notice,” which could lead to a legal showdown in the European Court of Justice. Britain has a month to reply. Government ministers earlier acknowledged that their domestic legislation would violate international law. A British government spokesperson said Thursday, “We will respond to the letter in due course.” During the interim, the two sides will continue to try to hammer out a divorce deal over future trade, travel and relations. Johnson has pledged that Britain will exit the E.U. with or without a deal when a transition period runs out at the end of the year. It is a Brussels parlor game at this point to speculate about whether he actually wants a deal. Some believe he does, reasoning that he can ill afford more economic turmoil on top of that already created by the coronavirus pandemic. Countries on both sides of the English Channel plummeted into record-breaking recessions in the second quarter. But European diplomats also say breaking one accord is no way to lay the groundwork for a second one. When Johnson signed the Northern Ireland protocol last October, he hailed it as a breakthrough — but later said it was a rushed document that needed substantial amendment. The challenge has been how to maintain a frictionless, virtually invisible border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to the south. Erasure of a border was a key part of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, brokered by the United States, and was critical to ending three decades of sectarian violence between pro-British Protestants and pro-Irish Catholics. But it wasn’t obvious how to avoid border checks after Northern Ireland left the E.U. along with the


The Trump-Biden debate showed how broken our China discussion has become

Tuesday’s presidential debate, for all its confusion and chaos, told us something important about our national debate on China policy: It’s fundamentally broken. Both candidates tried to exploit the China issue for political advantage and mangled the facts in the process. The country needs and deserves better from our leaders on this vital subject. China was mentioned 13 times during the 90-minute debate — even though foreign policy was not among the preselected subjects. Virtually every time China came up, the candidates spoke about it incorrectly. President Trump started by accusing former vice president Joe Biden of opposing his Jan. 31 ban on most travel from China. Biden didn’t respond, but his camp says Biden wasn’t referring to the travel ban when he accused Trump of “xenophobia” the very next day. (Biden didn’t endorse the ban until April 3.) Biden then inaccurately accused Trump of not even asking Chinese President Xi Jinping to allow U.S. scientists to enter Wuhan, a false claim the ex-vice president has been repeating since March. “Wrong,” Trump interrupted, in this instance correctly. Biden then accused Trump of praising Xi’s response to the virus, which is true. Trump went on to assert that his China travel ban saved millions of American lives, a claim with no evidentiary basis, and called covid-19 “the China plague.” Biden said Beijing has perfected “the art of the steal” by duping Trump into a weak trade deal. But he claimed the U.S. trade deficit with China is higher now, which is false. Trump responded by saying, “China ate your lunch, Joe,” whatever that means. The president also falsely claimed that Hunter Biden “[took] out billions of dollars [from China] to manage,” a gross misrepresentation of a murky deal involving the Bank of China to which the younger Biden was a party. China has become so politicized that politicians can seemingly talk about it only as an attack line — even though both parties know their voters want substantive responses to China’s malign actions, which increasingly affect U.S. national security, economic prosperity, freedom and public health. Polls show consistently “This issue of what the Chinese Communist Party is doing to us affects every American, it transcends party,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told me. “Covid opened up our eyes to a lot of weaknesses America had. You’ve got a heightened concern from our constituencies, and that is reflecting itself in Congress.”


We should be just as careful about covid-19 in relatives’ homes as we are in grocery stores

A disturbing new trend is making the coronavirus even harder to control: A rising proportion of infections are occurring at informal gatherings of family and friends. At the beginning of the pandemic, there were many outbreaks in congregate facilities such as nursing homes and prisons. State and local authorities put into place infection-control measures that have substantially reduced transmission in these high-risk settings. As the fall school term approached, universities thought that they could effectively implement similar protocols on campus. They instituted safeguards including reduced class size, improved classroom ventilation and daily symptom checks. The problem? Students got infected when they engaged in risky behaviors off-campus. At the University of New Hampshire, 11 cases were traced to a fraternity party hosting about 100 guests without masks. Medical degrees apparently provide no guarantee of safe gathering: A single party resulted in covid-19 infections in 18 anesthesiology residents and fellows training at the University of Florida. At K-12 institutions, the hard work administrators and teachers are doing to enforce mask-wearing and physical distancing will be undone if kids gather after school without similar protections. The risk extends to parents, and increases as families come together with friends and relatives with whom they are likely to let down their guard. I spoke this week with several public health officials from different parts of the country who noted this same trend. “In the beginning, we focused our efforts on homeless shelters, jails and workplaces that the city has the ability to regulate and enforce,” said Allison Arwady, the commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health. “But over the last few months, only 5 to 6 percent of our cases are being linked to these congregate settings.” She identified the current primary source of spread as informal social gatherings: barbecues, retirement parties and birth celebrations. Nilesh Kalyanaraman, health officer for Anne Arundel County in Maryland, agrees. He said to me that when his team looks at the data, “We see that family gatherings are coming up as one of the biggest sources of spread.” Why? “There’s a lot of magical thinking when it comes to covid,” Arwady said. “It’s natural to feel safe among those you know and love.” Our society’s efforts to restrain covid-19 in formal settings are working — as is public awareness of the need to wear masks and limit interactions outside the home. Retail stores, gyms and hair salons that


Smithsonian lays off 237 as covid-19 continues to limit operations

5, when they were furloughed as the pandemic-related closures continued, Howell said. At the end of April, Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III announced salary and hiring freezes and 10 percent salary cuts for 87 senior-level, nonfederal executives — including 19 from Smithsonian Enterprises — for a year beginning May 24. Bunch and Deputy Secretary Meroe Park took 15 percent cuts for the same period. An additional 66 Smithsonian Enterprises employees earning $100,000 or more were hit with 5 percent cuts. The division had 550 employees before the pandemic. The majority of the institution’s 6,300 employees are federal workers and not affected by these moves. A survey by the American Alliance of Museums found that 44 percent of museums initiated furloughs or layoffs as a result of the pandemic; a report from this summer estimated that about 1,500 employees nationwide had been laid off since March. Federal funds from Congress make up two-thirds of the Smithsonian’s $1.5 billion annual budget, allowing the museums to offer free admission. The $500 million balance comes from endowment funds and donations, the revenue it earns from ticketed programs, shop receipts, parking and other activities. The eight facilities that have reopened — the National Zoo, the National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va., the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Renwick Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery round out the list — are operating on reduced schedules, with limited capacity and with new health and safety protocols. Visitors are required to wear masks, obtain free timed passes in advance and practice social distancing. The store at the Udvar-Hazy center is open and those at the American History, American Indian and African American museums are expected to reopen in a few weeks. Howell said the Smithsonian hopes to open more stores as visitor numbers increase and staff become familiar with new procedures. Online sales — especially of books, puzzles and children’s games — have increased since the pandemic, but nothing compared to in-person sales. “No, there’s no offset there, Howell said. “It is a tough time obviously for the people who have lost their positions and for their colleagues in the stores that worked closely with them. They are part of the Smithsonian family,” he said. The layoffs don’t include those who work in the Smithsonian’s eight cafeterias and cafes, which are operated


Olympics reform bill passes House, promising sweeping change after abuse scandals rocked sports

and has taken on new health and safety initiatives, including the addition of a director of mental health services to its staff. In a statement, Sarah Hirshland, the organization’s chief executive, hailed the bill as “a big win in the halls of Congress” for American athletes. “It will cement increases in athlete representation in the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic movements, improvements in athlete safety protections, and bolster transparency and accountability in our system,” she said. “The USOPC board has already approved two of the most sweeping governance reform updates in recent history, and a third phase is before the board this fall. This legislation codifies many of those reforms, with the USOPC now positioned to move quickly to address any outstanding provisions and support the work of the Commission.” The organization will immediately face a challenge funding one of the bill’s cornerstone conditions. The USOPC must now provide $20 million annually in funding for SafeSport, a significant increase from its $7.5 million contribution in 2019 and $11.5 million this year. In the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic, the organization has been forced to reduce its staff and make other budget cuts. The USOPC was expecting nearly $200 million this year from the International Olympic Committee for its share of U.S. media rights for the 2020 Summer Games. That money now will not arrive until the conclusion of the Tokyo Games, which have been rescheduled for next summer. If those Olympics cannot take place, it would have a crippling effect on the USOPC and most Olympic-related organizations in the United States. But funding concerns aside, the legislation promises to spark both immediate and long-term reforms for a system designed to support and protect thousands of Olympic and Paralympic athletes. “This is not the end of the road for saying, ‘How do we create a vibrant system in United States?’ ” Bremer said. “This is the beginning. This will set us on a path where hopefully in the next two years we have a thorough, thoughtful process and a system that we’re proud of in every way, that treats athletes ethically, leads to strong performance on the field and does right by everyone involved.” Read more: With Olympics postponed, Katie Ledecky focuses on educating herself — and others For youth sports organizers, the right call has never been more elusive or important U.S. Olympic officials resort to layoffs amid grim projections


Jamal Khashoggi and the path to justice

Read more | Read in Arabic Read more | Read in Arabic Read more | Read in Arabic Read more Read more | Read in Arabic Read more


Trump’s ‘early’ travel ‘bans’ weren’t early, weren’t bans and didn’t work

against China on the same day or earlier than the United States. Before this pandemic, the World Health Organization had warned that travel bans contribute to “a false impression of control” — the misperception that a ban would stop the spread of disease. The reliance on travel bans over domestic readiness, in the United States and elsewhere, suggests the WHO had a point. By March 25, the number of nations that had imposed travel restrictions in this pandemic had increased to 136. A few nations used well-designed travel restrictions effectively as part of a comprehensive response to the pandemic. Others, such as the United States, deployed increasingly broad travel restrictions, designed more with politics than public health in mind. While it’s prudent to avoid traveling as a means of limiting exposure to the virus, the more than 34 million cases reported so far by 188 countries make it hard to argue that travel restrictions have helped stop the pandemic from spreading across the globe. The widespread use of travel bans leaves a legacy that extends beyond the current crisis and can make us less safe against future pandemic threats as well. Historically, governments often delayed reporting dangerous disease outbreaks to the WHO and other nations out of concern that other governments would impose tough trade and travel restrictions against them, which could have severe economic consequences. In 2005, the international health rules were revised to keep countries from closing borders or restricting trade in an outbreak, unless those restrictions were science-based and no more restrictive than needed. The extensive adoption of travel restrictions in this pandemic, over WHO guidance to the contrary, will only reinforce nations’ original impulses to keep outbreaks hidden. The world is at a crossroads: We can adopt stricter international health rules on the use of such bans or create a new system of global surveillance of pandemic threats that is much less dependent on the self-reporting of early affected states. Either approach will require global leadership, marshaling the support of allies and rivals alike, and working with the WHO. It is a worthy agenda for the next president — and a far better subject for the next debate than what Americans heard Tuesday night. Read more: My wife and I got the virus. I got better. We had to say goodbye over FaceTime. Trump’s White House is guilty of exactly what it accuses China of doing


The legal challenges against Saudi Arabia must continue

When Jamal Khashoggi and I worked together, I remember asking him about the infamous purge orchestrated by Mohammed bin Salman in 2017, when he detained scores of princes, other members of the royal family and wealthy Saudi businessmen at the Riyadh Ritz-Carlton. At the time, the crown prince framed the arrests as a crackdown on high-level corruption. Jamal said he supported reining in the corruption that had been a massive drain on Saudi economic development. “Still, shouldn’t there be trials?” I asked. I argued that was the best way to get the rest of the world to have confidence in doing business in Saudi Arabia. In January 2018, Jamal wrote that “tackling corruption … could be prosecuted with transparency and fair application of the law." Months later, Jamal would be killed by Saudi agents in the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul. It’s no secret that there has been no transparency or fair application of the law for that crime. The CIA concluded with high confidence that Mohammed bin Salman, or MBS, ordered the murder, but for two years, Saudi Arabia’s courts have made a mockery of justice while claiming to prosecute those responsible, in a process that has been marked by a total lack of transparency. Jamal’s murder has also been a test case for the rule of law in America’s democracy — and so far we have failed that test. President Trump has even bragged about helping MBS escape accountability for the murder. But this betrayal of basic human rights values and legal norms has not stopped tireless individuals and organizations from using different means to apply pressure on the Saudi regime and those who aid and abet it. Last year, the Open Society Justice Initiative filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. government to compel various federal agencies to declassify and release records relating to Jamal’s case in a timely manner. In August of last year, U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer ruled that Jamal’s case was of “considerable public importance” and that the federal government should quickly process all records related to it. The administration has barely moved an inch in this direction. Although the State Department has released some documents, most of them are heavily redacted. Attorney Amrit Singh with the Open Society Justice Initiative told me: “We have not received a single meaningful record that would shed light on who is responsible for the murder.” That


Jamal Khashoggi: Two years later

Sarah Leah Whitson: Karen Attiah: Madawi al-Rasheed and Abdullah Alaoudh: Jason Rezaian: Hatice Cengiz: The Post’s View: David Ignatius: Jackson Diehl: From the Archive: Jamal Khashoggi: Jamal Khashoggi:


Maryland coaches agree to pay cuts to deal with revenue loss during coronavirus pandemic

nearly $1.3 million last year. Locksley and Frese have the state’s second- and third-highest salaries. The earnings of those coaches are made up of a base salary and supplemental income. This pay cut will come from coaches’ supplemental income, which for both Locksley and Turgeon exceeds $2 million. Evans makes $720,000 per year, which includes supplemental income of $120,000. He will take a 10 percent pay cut from his supplemental pay. The other head coaches who will take a pay cut are Sasho Cirovski (men’s soccer), Missy Meharg (field hockey), Cathy Reese (women’s lacrosse) and John Tillman (men’s lacrosse). The school’s highest-earning assistant coaches in football and men’s basketball also agreed to the cut. “This is an incredible demonstration of generosity and commitment to the mission of our athletic department,” Evans said in a statement. “I appreciate these coaches’ continued understanding during these unprecedented times. The pandemic has dealt us a financial crisis that requires difficult decisions. We continue to stay resilient and we will get through this together. Focus on the health, safety and welfare of our student-athletes remains our top priority as we are committed to maintaining their student experience to the best of our abilities.” Maryland Athletics announced a fundraising campaign this week, asking donors to contribute to help fund “the increased operational expenses we face for student-athlete care” because of the coronavirus. Before the pandemic, Maryland Athletics was already fundraising for a $210 million football facility, a $36 million basketball facility and renovations to Olympic sport facilities that will cost $25 million. Athletic departments around the country have struggled financially in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The cancellation of the men’s basketball tournament meant schools did not receive their usual revenue distribution from the NCAA. Some athletic departments have lost revenue from student fees and donations. The Big Ten deciding to play football this fall will help Maryland’s athletic department, but the school will not recoup all its losses. The conference will not allow fans into games this season and teams are playing a shortened schedule, which will hurt typical revenue streams. Read more on Maryland basketball lands four-star point guard in 2022 class Trump again says he ‘brought back Big Ten football,’ a claim disputed by many A college football game was called off because of coronavirus tests. It was really human error. There’s never been a Navy-Air Force football game quite like this


Washington Post readers are invited to a special advance screening of “Kingdom of Silence”

The Washington Post and SHOWTIME are providing Post readers with the opportunity to attend a special advance screening of “Kingdom of Silence,” a documentary that examines the assassination of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the relationship between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia. On Thursday, Oct. 1, users can visit The Post and register to view the film ahead of the premiere. The documentary, directed by Emmy®-award winner Rick Rowley and executive produced by Alex Gibney and Lawrence Wright, features exclusive interviews exploring Khashoggi’s connections with Saudi rulers, Middle Eastern jihadists and fellow global journalists. “Kingdom of Silence” premieres on SHOWTIME on Oct. 2, the two-year anniversary of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s death at the hands of Saudi operatives.


Appeals judges uphold lower court’s order to continue census count

The new “Replan” aimed to deliver census data for House apportionment — allocating congressional seats to states — to the president by the original deadline of Dec. 31, while President Trump is still in office, rather than four months later as the bureau had planned as a result of the pandemic. The announcement of the Replan sparked several lawsuits, joining litigation already underway challenging Trump’s July announcement that he would seek to exclude undocumented immigrants from apportionment when census numbers are delivered. A three-judge panel in New York ruled against the government this month in one of the apportionment challenges, and the government has appealed to the Supreme Court. The appeals court Wednesday found that “the evidence in the administrative record uniformly showed that no matter when field operations end — whether September 30 under the Replan or October 31 under the COVID-19 Plan — the Bureau will be unable to deliver an accurate census by December 31, 2020. The President, senior Bureau officials, senior Department of Commerce officials, the Office of Inspector General, the Census Scientific Advisory Committee, and the Government Accountability Office have all stated that delivering a census by December 31 without compromising accuracy is practically impossible, and has been for some time.” The ruling also noted that the announcement Monday of an Oct. 5 end date “contradicts the government’s argument that the September 30 date is vitally important to the Bureau’s ability to meet its statutory reporting deadline.” Referring to the dissenting judge’s citation of a Sept. 28 estimate suggesting that the census is 98 percent complete, the ruling noted that that number was “still below the enumeration rate required by the Bureau’s internal standards for generating an accurate census report.” As of Wednesday night, the date the count would have ended according to the Replan, 20 states fell short of the 99 percent mark, according to the bureau’s website. The Census Bureau also on Wednesday said it had added its fourth political appointee since June, an unprecedented number for the bureau. Trey Mayfield, a lawyer, has been named counselor to the director. “Mr. Mayfield will assist the director in strategic decision-making and litigation coordination, reporting to the Department of Commerce Office of General Counsel,” a bureau spokesman said. The bureau did not immediately respond to questions about how long he has been working there or why the position is needed. In June, the bureau appointed


Greenland ice sheet on course to lose ice at fastest rate in 12,000 years, study finds

temperature was about 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit above the preindustrial average, a temperature the world is on track to exceed by the end of this century, depending on the rate of global emissions. “It is no secret that the Greenland Ice Sheet is in rough shape and is losing ice at an increasing rate,” said Nicholas Young, a researcher at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO) at Columbia University, in a news release. “I think this is the first time that the current health of the Greenland Ice Sheet has been robustly placed into a long-term context.” Young and colleagues were able to put together an unbroken history of the Greenland ice sheet’s mass change, relying on computer modeling and field research in southwestern Greenland. The researchers’ projections show that after little change in ice mass loss over thousands of years, a sudden, precipitous uptick occurred in recent decades. This steep rise is projected to accelerate through 2100, if the world fails to drastically cut the greenhouse gas emissions fueling the globe’s warming. If the entire Greenland Ice Sheet were to melt, scientists estimate that sea level would rise about 20 feet. According to the study, the current mass loss rate of about 6,100 billion metric tons per century that occurred between 2000 and 2018 is comparable to rates in the early Holocene. But depending on greenhouse gas emissions in the next few decades, future mass loss will be far more devastating — on the order of 8,800 billion metric tons to 35,900 billion metric tons over the rest of the century. “We’re basically committed to losing ice at a faster clip than we did at that last period of rapid loss 12,000 years ago," said Jason Briner, a geology professor at the University at Buffalo and lead author of the study, in an interview. "That was for me a surprising finding.” For the research, scientists relied on analyzing clues to the ice sheet’s past movement by studying the chemical composition of boulders that sit on large piles of debris located at the former edge of a glacier or ice sheet, known as moraines. The analyses enabled the scientists to determine when the ice was located there and when it retreated from the boulders. The scientists compared their computer modeling results with the field work results to determine the accuracy of their projections into the future. An “aspect I like about this


The disease Netanyahu fears isn’t covid-19. It’s dissent.

The new Jewish year has gotten off to a savagely grim start in Israel. On the eve of the Rosh Hashanah holiday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government imposed the country’s second lockdown since the start of the covid-19 pandemic. Last week, the government again tightened restrictions. Citizens may travel no farther than a kilometer from their homes. Much of the economy will shut. The government even ordered synagogues closed, though it allowed indoor prayers under special rules on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year, which fell on Monday. Superficially, this makes sense. Israel is indeed facing total breakdown in dealing with the pandemic. A month ago, the rate of new covid-19 cases per 100,000 residents was about 20. On Wednesday, when the cabinet reached its decision, the daily rate had soared to a terrifying 130 per 100,000. Israel’s daily death rate from the pandemic shot above the United States’ rate in recent days and is now one of the highest in the world. But the political reality behind the lockdown is more complicated — and more frightening. Two factors have driven Netanyahu's policy prescriptions since the pandemic began. One factor has been suppressing covid-19. The stronger motivation appears to be suppressing threats to Netanyahu's hold on power. The first case in point came six months ago. The coronavirus arrived in Israel along with the country’s third election in a year. Like the previous two, it produced a deadlock. This time, though, Netanyahu faced a court date laden with symbolism — his arraignment on corruption charges — during the weeks allotted for forming a new government. The opposition was positioned to pass a law barring a criminal defendant from leading a new government. Netanyahu recognized the crisis posed by the virus — and its political value. He appeared regularly on television, speaking of the threat and announcing new measures. Yet even before the government imposed a national lockdown, Netanyahu's then-justice minister imposed a near-closure of the country's courts — postponing Netanyahu's arraignment for two months. The then-speaker of the Knesset, another Netanyahu lackey, attempted to shutter Israel's parliament. The Supreme Court overruled him. But the delay, and well-crafted doomsday mood, induced inexperienced opposition leader Benny Gantz and his Blue and White party to join an “emergency government” under Netanyahu. Which brings us to the second case in point: In May, a few days after the government was sworn in,


These laboratory-made antibodies are a best bet for a coronavirus treatment, but there won’t be enough

developed in the 1970s, have become the first line of attack, pursued by at least 50 companies and academic teams. That includes the two-antibody cocktail churned out by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals’ hamster cells in Rensselaer, N.Y. Promising but preliminary data has bolstered the chorus of hope around monoclonals from top health officials. They are “a real best chance of being a game changer,” according to Francis S. Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health. “We’re looking for big impacts on disease, not the small incremental impacts we often see in ordinary drug development,” said Janet Woodcock, who is leading therapeutics development for Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration’s initiative to provide treatments and vaccines for covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. One thing is certain about monoclonal antibodies: If the pandemic keeps raging, there won’t be enough. Unlike conventional pills, these are expensive, injectable drugs synthesized by living organisms in specialized reactors, at a biological cadence that can’t be rushed. A worldwide scramble to find capacity to make the drugs is afoot, with companies striking deals with competitors to increase their manufacturing capabilities. Even then, to create enough antibody medication to treat all the people diagnosed with covid-19 so far, the entire global capacity for making monoclonals would have to be switched over for a year, according to an analysis conducted for The Washington Post by the BioProcess Technology Group at global accounting firm BDO, which advises the pharmaceutical industry. Now, the reactors that make monoclonal antibodies are mostly occupied, making essential drugs for people with cancer and autoimmune diseases. “I pray to God these therapies work,” said Howard Levine, national leader of BDO’s BioProcess Technology Group. “But in the short term, there is going to be a problem, I think, in making enough to treat every single patient.” When a deadly pneumonia was identified in China in January, scientists at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals knew the drill. As with Zika, Ebola and Middle East respiratory syndrome, the new coronavirus’s close cousin, scientists started work on a therapy, using the company’s proprietary platform — what their chief executive Leonard S. Schleifer calls “magical mice.” These rodents, genetically engineered to have humanized immune systems, can muster human antibodies that serve as the template for a new drug. On Jan. 21, a week after the scientific work began, Christos Kyratsous, vice president of research, made an unusual call, asking his colleagues to get


Tougher hate crime laws in Maryland, higher gas taxes in D.C. and more liberal scooter laws in Virginia

bar discrimination against Black hairstyles by employers and others. It follows a national wave of legislation prompted by the story of a New Jersey high school wrestler who in 2018 was forced to cut his dreadlocks to compete. In D.C., Oct. 1 marks the first day of several tax revisions pushed by D.C. lawmakers after the coronavirus pandemic caused a steep drop in city revenue. The most wide-reaching is a 10-cent-per-gallon hike in the gas tax, which brings the District’s fuel tax to a similar level as Maryland and Virginia. Other changes apply to wealthy estates and tax breaks for companies. In Virginia, new laws typically take effect July 1, at the start of the state’s fiscal year. One of the few laws taking effect Oct. 1 concerns electric scooter rentals. Local governments had until Thursday to adopt regulations for scooter rentals, including any requirement that they be licensed. The law makes clear that rental companies are free to operate in localities that did not act by that deadline. The more than 300 laws taking effect in Maryland include tougher penalties for strangulation, which domestic violence advocates say could help authorities intervene before situations turn fatal, and repealing the state’s antiquated sodomy laws, which the Supreme Court invalidated for consenting couples nationwide in 2003. One statute requires public universities to develop detailed plans to handle infectious outbreaks in on campus. In 2018, the University of Maryland waited to tell students about an adenovirus outbreak that eventually sickened about 45 students and killed Olivia Paregol, a freshman for whom the law is named. An outside review determined the outbreak should have been handled as a campuswide emergency. And amid a rise in demand for takeout and delivery, Maryland will officially ban the use of foam containers as of Thursday, the final step in implementing a 2019 law. The ban on polystyrene was delayed from July until October to lessen the burden on the state’s restaurant industry, which has been reeling from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Many businesses have already switched to compostable or recyclable containers, partly driven by local foam bans but also by consumer demand for more sustainable options. Ban advocates argued the foam damages the environment, clogging up waterways and filling landfills with trash that is not fully biodegradable. Gov. Larry Hogan (R) declined to sign the bill in 2019, letting it become law without his signature.


Will Washington-area schools publicly report coronavirus cases? Many say no.

in late September, 24 members of Congress signed a letter urging the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to begin publishing national data on coronavirus cases in schools. Those arguing against disclosure sometimes point to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and the federal Family Education Rights and Privacy Act. But those laws do not forbid public school systems from publishing data about cases, provided the information released does not give out personal information about the infected. In fact, the U.S. Education Department published a letter specifically urging the disclosure of school cases back in March. “School notification is an effective method of informing parents and eligible students of an illness in the school,” the letter argues. D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) has not said how or if city officials will publicize school-related virus cases. The D.C. Health Department has said it is not disclosing outbreaks at day cares to the public. The public school system in the nation’s capital is online-only, but officials said that they are considering bringing back groups of students starting Nov. 9, and that they will notify the entire school community if someone tests positive in the building. KIPP DC, the city’s largest charter network, said it is following similar protocols. The network said it has had no positive cases since some in-person learning started this fall. Recently, at least three staff members in the traditional public school system who had been in school buildings tested positive for the virus. School officials then sent notices to employees at each individual campus. Students were not in the buildings at the time. “This is a topic that we know that teachers and families want a complete understanding of how it works,” Bowser said Monday. “When we talk about our schedule for Nov. 9 we want to have sample language that they will receive in the event — if there is an event — of a case at their school. It will be all outlined.” In the Maryland suburbs, it’s not easy to find data about school-related outbreaks. The health departments in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties do not post numbers about school-related cases, and neither do public school systems. In Montgomery County, Health Officer Travis Gayles said his department has launched roughly 50 contact investigations at private and parochial schools since mid-August, which cumulatively identified at least 15 schools with positive cases. But Gayles has


When we need public health most, our leaders are waging war against it

Our nation’s leaders are waging war on public health when we need it most — in the middle of a pandemic. Here’s what the American counter-public health strategy looks like: Don’t test. Change testing guidelines to reduce case counts. Underreport cases. Politicize systems that collect and analyze data. Pretend the problem has gone away. Turn your back on those at risk. Say protective measures don’t work or worse. Claim you can override the Food and Drug Administration to approve a vaccine for the novel coronavirus before the election. And, as we’ve now learned, minimize the risk of reopening schools over the objections of experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As we determine what we must do to contain the virus in the coming months — be it through masks and social distancing or new tests, treatments or vaccines — we should also look back, to the origins of public health and why some in this country have never entirely bought into the public health approach. In the early 19th century, cholera wreaked havoc on the world. Cholera is caused by a toxin-producing strain of the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. Patients suffer from the sudden onset of diarrhea and vomiting. Their skin is cold and clammy, turns a bluish gray and their eyes are sunken. As quickly as the illness comes on, in the absence of treatment, the victims of cholera too often die. The Atlantic Ocean initially protected the United States. But by early June 1832, cholera had reached North American shores, first touching down in Quebec City and Montreal, then making its way down New York state’s canal system toward New York City. Cholera was a disease of growing, crowded cities that had neither the public health infrastructure — clean water, sewage systems, hygiene and sanitation — necessary to prevent the spread of infectious diseases, nor the regulatory frameworks to balance private power and wealth with public good. Some 30 years earlier, private banking interests had obstructed New York City’s plans for clean public drinking water, leaving the city as vulnerable and fertile ground for cholera to take hold. And as cholera began to spread, business interests prevented the action necessary to avoid an outbreak. The city’s health board was “more afraid of the merchants than of lying,” in the words of historian Charles Rosenberg. Quarantines had effectively contained the spread of bubonic plague and smallpox, but