Covid-19 is accelerating multilateralism in Africa

The global struggle against the coronavirus pandemic has prompted some governments to close their borders and retreat from multilateralism, and instead implement protectionist policies and trade restrictions. African countries are taking a different approach. To combat the spread of infection while minimizing social and economic disruptions, Africa is promoting multilateralism through cooperation and coordination among its countries. The analysis in “African Development, African Transformation” presents evidence of the emergence of collaborative institutions and initiatives in Africa and their capacity to influence development outcomes and international cooperation. Studying continental programs such as the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), which is complemented by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM), reveals how certain core factors help explain multilateralism’s rise in Africa. Why multilateralism is on the rise in Africa The first factor involves the complexity of challenges African countries face, including persistent underdevelopment, foreign dependency, poverty and disease. When the possibility of a global pandemic first emerged, African leaders were concerned about the severe consequences of the spread of the coronavirus, as many countries lacked physical and health infrastructure, and had low levels of sanitation and high food insecurity. Adding to these vulnerabilities was the disruption of the global value chain and national economic activities, which limited access to essential products and threatened livelihoods. But the boost in multilateralism also reflects the rise of political ownership and accountability. This is demonstrated by increased citizen support for accountable governments and increased initiative and ownership of global and local solutions by African leaders. For example, when creating the AUDA-NEPAD, leaders highlighted the critical importance of both individual and collective ownership and accountability for the success of the institution and for gaining the strong support of development partners. Here’s the third factor: broader recognition of the critical importance of agile governance and multi-stakeholder collaboration to mobilize resources and successfully implement policies. Efforts to date include the creation of initiatives such as the African Peer Review Mechanism, which aims to improve governance effectiveness, and the Presidential Infrastructure Champion Initiative, established to accelerate the implementation of regional infrastructure. The Africa CDC has led the coronavirus response The African Union spearheaded the policy coordination on the coronavirus, bringing together ministers of its 55 members as early as February to create a proactive and unified response, beginning with the adoption of the Africa Joint Continental Strategy for COVID-19. Much of the


collaboration falls under the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), an African Union agency that works to improve the capacity of public health systems to respond effectively to disease outbreaks. The Africa CDC mobilized resources to bridge the gaps in public health systems and develop an effective response. Even before there were any confirmed cases on the continent, the Africa CDC launched the African Task Force for Coronavirus to coordinate surveillance, infection prevention and control in health-care facilities, clinical management of infected individuals, laboratory diagnosis, risk communication and community engagement. In addition, the Africa CDC conducted regional workshops and training early on to strengthen the capacity of African nations to prevent the spread of the virus, and developed accessible guidelines and information resources for citizens and governments alike to acquire knowledge on all aspects of the pandemic. To address tremendous testing and supply needs, the Africa CDC’s newest initiative, the Partnership to Accelerate COVID-19 Testing (PACT), aims to support “pooled procurement, storage and distribution of diagnostics and other medical supplies” as well as test 10 million individuals, deploy 1 million community workers, and implement technology platforms to enhance health forecasting and the speed, amount, accuracy and reporting of testing. In early February, Africa had just six labs capable of testing for the coronavirus — the sample from the first suspected case in Côte d’Ivoire had to be sent to Paris for analysis. Africa now has more than 844,000 confirmed cases, and virtually all African countries have some testing capacity, even if mass testing capacity is limited. The Africa CDC has been instrumental in facilitating this collaboration among African countries, allowing them to activate better detection and response mechanisms, particularly when compared to the response to Ebola. Africa still faces substantial coronavirus challenges Because of the continent’s lack of economic diversification and overall dependence on commodity exports, the global supply chain disruptions, shutdowns and export restrictions have created issues in acquiring medical supplies, pharmaceuticals and food supplies. This is an area in which heightened multilateralism and regional integration in Africa could again prove beneficial, specifically through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Signed by 54 out of 55 African countries, the AfCFTA aims to grant “free access to commodities, goods, and services across the continent.” The AfCFTA is working to remove tariffs on more than 90 percent of goods, standardize trade regulations, establish “trade corridors” to expedite


Parents who want to get back to work are enrolling their kids in private schools

Plus, coronavirus vaccine researchers struggle to convince African Americans to join trials, and ancient teeth show the history of epidemics is much older than we thought.


When it comes to congressional oversight of our military, the U.S. has a serious diversity problem

talented of individuals still need a senior-level person to sponsor and guide them through the pipeline with the end goal of gaining enough of a platform to prove their national security credentials on a large stage. For civilians, the Armed Services Committees are that powerful stage. But as things stand now, the utter lack of diversity at the top ranks makes it more difficult for a younger generation of women and racial minorities to visualize a clear pathway for success for themselves in the national security apparatus. Rep. Brown was the only African American voice present during committee consideration of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, which will change the laws regulating the military’s ability to disperse peaceful protesters and remove Confederate names and the display of the Confederate flag from Defense Department installations. Both Gen. Brown and Rep. Brown deserve better. Americans deserve more diversity in those rooms and on committees. As new African American members are sworn into the 117th Congress, they should strongly consider serving on the House and Senate Armed Services Committees to give their constituents and African American service members more of a voice on these issues. It is unacceptable that these conversations and decisions about our racial history are being made about us, but without us in the room. African Americans have served in every war for the United States, dating back to our founding. African American soldiers are the largest and longest-serving minority group of the Armed Services. In a time when our country is reckoning with a dismal record of injustice for African Americans, it is utterly distressing that the health and safety of more than 350,000 African American service members are determined in part by a committee that includes only one person who looks like them. In a truly just society, congressional committees should reflect the rich composition of the service members they oversee. It is past time to right this wrong. Read more The Post’s View: A black man now heads the Air Force. It’s progress, but military brass remains starkly white. ‘What to the African American is the Fourth of July?’ 89 former Defense officials: The military must never be used to violate constitutional rights Harry Anderson: My experience at a Confederate-named Army base shows why we need to rename them all — now Ty Seidule: What to rename the Army bases that honor Confederate soldiers


Can you get coronavirus twice? Doctors are unsure, even as anecdotal reports mount.

been hit with a different virus with similar symptoms. Their positive coronavirus tests could have been false positives — a not-insignificant possibility given accuracy issues with some tests — or picked up dead remnants of virus, as authorities believe happened in hundreds of people who tested positive after recovering in South Korea. “You can’t extrapolate those anecdotal, first-person observations to the entire population and make sweeping conclusions about how the virus works,” said Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at Columbia University. There is still not enough evidence or sufficient time since the virus first struck to draw firm conclusions about how people develop immunity to the coronavirus, how long it might last — or what might make it less robust in some individuals than in others. When the outbreak first hit, many experts including the National Institutes of Health’s Anthony S. Fauci said they hoped protection from reinfection might last at least through the expected second wave in the fall, or into the next year. For severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), the antibodies seem to last for a year or longer. But other coronaviruses, such as the four that cause the common cold, act differently. People seem to be able to get them each season, over and over again. Daniel Griffin, an infectious-diseases doctor and researcher at Columbia University Medical Center, said that with every virus — including chickenpox, for which antibodies are supposed to last a lifetime — there are cases of people who become sick again after recovering from the initial illness. When it comes to Ebola, American doctor Ian Crozier was declared free of the virus but then doctors found it lurking in his eye. In HIV/AIDS cases, a baby in Mississippi born to an HIV-positive mother was thought to be cured but then the virus reemerged 27 months after therapy was stopped. So in a world where 14.5 million people have had the coronavirus, a small number with resurgent sickness should not be cause for alarm. “The big question is: Is that a rare situation, or is that going to be the rule?” Griffin said. Based on what we know about the novel coronavirus, physicians and public health officials say reinfection is certainly a theoretical possibility. But they disagree over whether there is convincing evidence that that is happening and if so, what the implications might be for vaccines. “No


people [come down] with flu-like symptoms and their immune response wasn’t strong enough and they get it again, that … is terrible, but … we, from a public health policy point of view, want to reduce mortality.” Kamran Kadkhoda, medical director of immunopathology at the Cleveland Clinic, said the question of what happens when people are re-exposed to the virus is a critical one. If protection tends to be short-lived, he said, it would make masking and social distancing even more important. “It would definitely be a predicament for public health, there’s no question about that,” he said. “In the absence of a vaccine, the main thing that we’d have against reinfection are these prevention measures.” But in an interview, Fauci, the director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said short-term immunity is a solvable problem. “How long it [antibody response] lasts is an important question, but as long as you get it, that’s a good first step,” he said. “We’ll find out and when we find out — and if you need to — we’ll give [you] a boost” with another vaccine. Robert Glatter, an assistant professor of emergency medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital and Northwell Health, the largest medical system in New York State, said if widespread reinfection is a possibility, people may have to be vaccinated over and over again, leading to logistical and supply challenges. “We may find ourselves confronted with continued seasonal outbreaks having to provide multiple booster shots throughout the year, to ensure more robust immunity,” he speculated. There is no data on how many U.S. patients report being reinfected. But doctors say they began seeing a trickle of relapsed patients in June and July. Those patients ran the gamut, including both men and women in their 20s to 60s, who are distinct from the “long-haulers” and who had complained of symptoms for months. These were people who had tested positive way back when and seemed to be recovered. At the University of Pennsylvania, there was the pregnant woman infected in March who was fine for two months and then became so sick during childbirth she had to be put on a ventilator. At Cleveland Clinic, there was a patient with very mild symptoms in February — just a loss of smell and taste — who was well for two months, but then needed to be hospitalized in early May and


‘We have given up on defeating the pandemic’: Readers grapple with the country’s reopening

another closure, as now seems likely. And, without a safety net, I wonder if I should have taken to sleeping in my car to save more than I had. Rick Beechy, 53, Medina, Ohio: Then covid-19 came along and, simply put, it will destroy me and my business if Gov. Mike DeWine (R) does not allow us to go back to full capacity by Sept. 1. Nancy Collins, 35, Fredericksburg: Our school board, administration and superintendent are doing their best. But it's not enough. Teachers are worried about our kids. We know that our students rely on the structure and support of schools; we know that their families have valid fears about not being able to go to work if their children aren’t in school full time. At the same time, teachers are worried about their own health, as well as the health of their elderly and/or medically fragile family members. A representative of the local affiliate for the National Education Association just posted a reminder that if you’re a member, you’re entitled to participate in the attorney referral program, and that they can assist with creating or updating a will. Brad Nemetski, 41, Englewood, N.J.: Pamela Whaley, 50, Grand Forks, N.D.: I need to work, and they need to be in school. They need the normalcy and social interaction that a traditional public school provides. My special needs child is a mostly functional adult because of the services he received. I was able to go to nursing school because all of my middle school children were in school while I was studying. That being said, I have watched the infection rates in my home state of North Dakota increase. Schools cannot be made safe in the current environment. I want my children to go back to school but I fear for them if they do. Watch Opinions videos: Read more: Joe Garcia: Inside San Quentin prison, you sit and wait until covid-19 comes for you The Post’s View: It may never be needed. But let’s think about how vaccine makers might expose volunteers to the virus. Whitney Ellenby: I put off explaining death to my autistic son. Covid-19 convinced me I couldn’t wait any longer. Lori Gottlieb: The surprising intimacy of online therapy sessions during the pandemic We are interested in hearing about how the struggle to reopen amid the pandemic is affecting people’s lives. Please tell us yours.


Every sport has a coronavirus plan. MLB’s lasted four days.

Cancel the MLB year, maybe by the end of this week. Forget about the NFL season; it’s never going to happen. The idea of attempting a college football season — putting amateur athletes at risk — is obscenely unthinkable. Within days or a couple of weeks, we also may find out just how feasible it is for the NBA, in its Florida bubble, or the NHL, playing in two hub cities in Canada, to finish truncated seasons and crown champions. Sure, none of that is certain, but Monday morning’s news that at least 14 members of the Miami Marlins and their staff have tested positive for the novel coronavirus in recent days was a Category 5 covid-19 hurricane alert. You couldn’t have a worse MLB start or a grimmer predictor for other games. With lots of inherent social distancing, baseball was supposed to be the easiest major American team sport to resume, just as leagues in Japan and South Korea have functioned smoothly for months. But MLB couldn’t go even a week without the serious prospect that its 60-game season should be canceled. “Hey, I’m going to be honest with you: I’m scared. I really am,” said Washington Nationals Manager Dave Martinez, 55, who has a heart condition. Why is MLB creating a situation where Dusty Baker, 71, the survivor of multiple life-threatening conditions in the past 15 years, manages Houston every day while Texas is a national coronavirus hot spot? Martinez added that before long his team may see more players “opt out,” as Ryan Zimmerman and Joe Ross already have. Once the defections start, the cascade won’t stop until the sport must call a halt. “Now we REALLY get to see if MLB is going to put players health first,” tweeted Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander David Price, who passed on $11.8 million by opting out of this partial season. “Remember when [Commissioner Rob] Manfred said players health was PARAMOUNT?! Part of the reason I’m at home right now is because players health wasn’t being put first. I can see that hasn’t changed.” Underneath all the discussions and elaborate plans to reopen various sports — MLB, the NBA and NHL now, and the NFL and college football by the end of next month — has been one naive assumption: If the virus hit a team, it would infect one or two players. Maybe three. But the sense was things


Head of Baltimore ICU dies of coronavirus, surrounded by his staff and husband

576 have died. Hart, who operated a cafe in Baltimore until retiring a few years ago, said he and Costa met nearly three decades ago this summer through a Baltimore City Paper personal ad. They immediately hit it off. “That was it. We were never apart after that,” Hart said. “There was just something about him.” Costa, who spoke fluent German and Italian, loved to travel and played the clarinet, piano and mandolin. Costa was also a Roman Catholic but struggled with the fact that the church was intolerant of his homosexuality, his husband said. But Mercy hospital was not, and its acceptance and daily mission seemed to be the truest expression of a faith that lays emphasis on sacrifice and concern for others, Hart said. At Costa’s advice, Hart had been staying most of the time at their farm in Shaftsbury, Vt., to reduce his chances of contracting the disease. But when Hart came to visit in late June, Costa started to become ill. When the diagnosis was confirmed, Costa told Hart to leave their Baltimore home at once and return to sheltering in Vermont. But as Hart drove north, he became sicker and sicker. He sought medical care but was told to self-quarantine because the symptoms still appeared mild. At the farm, Hart monitored his vital signs and remained in close contact with his doctor. But then the disease progressed so rapidly that he passed out. Neighbors found him and called an ambulance. “I was in denial. I couldn’t believe this was happening to me,” Hart said. “You’re getting sicker, and your whole world is getting smaller.” Hart recovered. But the disease raged through Costa with even more devastating results, Hart said. Eventually, Costa was put on a ventilator and slipped into a coma. Costa, who attended the University of Virginia as an undergraduate and studied medicine at the University of Maryland, joined Mercy Medical Center in 1997. He became head of critical care in 2005 and served a two-year stint as the medical staff’s president, hospital officials said. He also chaired the Medical Morals Committee and served as a member of the Mercy Health Services Board of Trustees Mission and Corporate Ethics Committee. Costa was known for his warm bedside manner, and the nurses and other hospital personnel who reported to him said he acted more like an older brother than a boss, hospital officials said. Plans


Virginia delays high school sports, will play three condensed seasons starting Dec. 28

coronavirus crisis intensifies, the season could be delayed or canceled. “I thought model three legitimately was the only one that was equitable for all sports,” Chantilly girls’ soccer coach Melissa Bibbee said. “It’s the only one that’s giving us a fighting chance.” While the fall season does include the low-risk sports of golf and cross-country, those sports are also delayed until spring. The VHSL voted not to exempt those sports from the delay out of equity concerns. Even as the schedule is in place, plenty of questions remain unanswered. The board will meet Aug. 24 to discuss what playoff format, if any, to use. If seasons are canceled, there will be questions about athletes reclassifying. Eventually, the time will come for questions about spectators. And the state defers to the school districts on questions about coronavirus protocols and testing and procedures for when athletes test positive. “Obviously they will have to work out some logistics,” Patriot boys’ basketball coach Sherman Rivers said. “But just the simple fact that we’re going to have a season made it an extremely happy moment for me and I’m sure for our players.” There will also be issues posed by the overlap between sports. Whereas local private leagues such as the Interstate Athletic Conference and the Independent School League have put forth a model where one season ends before the other begins, the VHSL plan could have up to three weeks of overlap between seasons. For some multisport athletes, this could force tough decisions. “I definitely see some issues, but these are extreme times,” Bibbee said. “This year, we’re just going to have to go with the flow. Playing dual sports are important for many reasons. But the kids may have to choose.” Secondary questions are premature for now. The coronavirus has halted competitions since March 12, and everyone is operating on the pandemic’s timetable. As seen in MLB, where a team’s outbreak has jeopardized the season less than a week into it, smooth returns aren’t guaranteed. But with plans for a potential season in place, excitement is high in Northern Virginia. “The kids have been champing at the bit to get back out there,” Rivers said. “The first question I got this morning when we found out was about when we would start working out. I had to tell them: ‘Guys, relax. Let’s just be happy that we’re going to play some games.’ ”


The tortoise of 21st-century great-power politics

the problem. … What you’re seeing is a collapse of soft power of America.” Balz is hardly the only observer to make this point. The foreign reaction to federal mismanagement has mostly been shock and pity. If the United States has barely survived, has China thrived? Not really. While the Chinese government has been much more successful than the U.S. government in containing the virus, there are some brute facts that no amount of propaganda can bury: The virus originated in China, the government there was less than transparent in communicating with the rest of the world about covid-19, and Beijing has reacted badly when other countries raise these issues. The most damning indictment of China’s bellicosity is that even the ham-handed Trump administration has made some headway in building a coalition to constrain Chinese aggression. It is striking that even traditional boosters of China’s power have argued recently that Beijing has whiffed on its chance to seize its moment during the pandemic. Economist Arvind Subramanian has been arguing for close to a decade that Chinese economic power has been underrated. In a recent column, however, Subramanian is more downbeat about China’s position in the world: To be clear, this is painting with a very broad brush. Even as it has alienated friends and neighbors, China has expanded its sphere of influence during the pandemic. The United States has displayed genuine leadership in the financial realm. Neither U.S. nor Chinese hard power has declined. Nonetheless, if soft power reduces frictions in world politics, then both the United States and China will find foreign policy to be a harder slog. If both the United States and China are foundering in their own way, who does that leave? After a few months of fumbling and stumbling, it would seem that the European Union has begun to find its sea legs. According to Goldman Sachs, “Europe remains on track to outperform other regions — especially the U.S. — during the recovery from the coronacrisis.” The E.U. has finally cemented a landmark deal of short- and long-term funding of close to $2 trillion in response to covid-19. The E.U. deal impressed my Post colleague Robert Samuelson. It also impressed economist Stephen Roach, a self-professed “hardcore Euroskeptic.” He acknowledged in a recent column that “unlike the United States, which appears to be squandering the opportunities presented by the epic COVID-19 crisis, Europe has risen to


Playing college football in 2020 would continue to devalue black lives

The commissioners of college sports’ Power 5 conferences recently announced significant alterations to fall sports plans due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Big Ten and Pac 12 member institutions will play conference-only opponents this fall, while the ACC and the Southeastern Conference initially postponed competition for all fall sports except football until Sept. 1. Pac-12 and ACC officials are expected to proceed with a revised football schedule that starts in mid-September. Leaders of the Big 12 are contemplating similar decisions. Some leaders have even publicly admitted sports may not happen at all, a prospect that was reinforced by the postponement of multiple MLB games Monday after an outbreak on the Miami Marlins just four days into the delayed baseball season. Public attention has been focused primarily on college football and the estimated $4 billion that could be lost if the season is canceled. The debate over proceeding with football has been fierce, with arguments often pitting the fact that players, whose well-being would be at risk, don’t get paid against the devastating impact of lost revenue from upending such a profitable fall ritual. But the uprisings this summer make it clear the racial dimension to this conversation is just as important. Black men account for more than half of all Power 5 college football players despite representing less than three percent of the undergraduate student bodies on those campuses, according to a recent study. Asking them to risk their health to preserve revenue for universities would simply be an extension of the long tradition of devaluing of black lives in American higher education. Most elite universities benefited from slavery, something for which many institutions are starting to atone. Yet, the direct disregard for black lives on campus is also a product of recent history, shaping how universities developed following World War II. While the G.I. Bill contributed to a postwar college enrollment boom, black veterans were denied the full benefits of the bill. And for as much has changed over the past three-quarters of a century, the same racial dynamics remain on many campuses today. The desegregation of all-white universities in the South gave a glimpse of how black lives were devalued in higher education. At the University of Alabama in June 1963 the university’s admission of two black students — Vivian Malone and James Hood — garnered global attention as approximately 400 journalists were in Tuscaloosa as segregationist Gov.


A new Israeli tank features Xbox controllers, AI honed by ‘StarCraft II’ and ‘Doom’

secure area on IAI’s military base-like campus. “Yeah, I think I can say I’m a gamer.” IAI used design principles from video games as well, using familiar icons and layouts to display information. The screens contain much of the same info one would find when playing “Fortnite” or “Apex Legends,” including a map, a tally of ammo stores and a list of available weapons. It’s also displayed in a way one would expect to see while dropping into “Call of Duty Warzone,” with relevant information framing the crew’s view. Of course, here, the screen displays the reality outside — with live targets and real weapons. This is not the first time video games and war machines have intersected. Nor is this the first time a gaming device has been used to control a vehicle of war. In 2018, the U.S. Navy’s USS Colorado submarine went into service equipped with an Xbox controller to operate its periscope. In 2014, Xbox controllers were used to control Boeing’s High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator in a test for the U.S. military. And in 2008, a team of military and private industry engineers announced their attempts to use Nintendo Wii controllers with bomb disposal robots. There has also been ethical scrutiny on the subject. United States drone pilots and other observers have likened piloting the unmanned crafts to playing a video game, and a 2012 documentary by The Guardian noted military efforts to recruit pilots from gaming conventions. More recently the U.S. Army’s official video gaming team began streaming on Twitch as part of a recruiting effort that resulted in criticism and claims of first amendment violations when members of the chat were banned from the stream for referencing wartime atrocities. (Twitch is owned by Amazon, whose CEO, Jeff Bezos, owns The Washington Post.) Critics of the intersection of gaming and war have pointed to the potential desensitizing effect that games could introduce to an arena with lethal consequences. Seeking to fight potential blurring between video games and real life war, Shabtai’s team opted against a virtual reality system with goggles and for an interface that requires a shared sense of reality with other people. “When you’re dealing with the battle arena itself, you can’t be alone,” Shabtai said. “You’re not fighting in an aircraft, you’re on the ground, with other forces and another team member, everything needs to be connected.” The AI system also


The military is making changes in response to Black Lives Matter protests. That’s good for fighting wars.

other side. Similarly, the likelihood that large numbers of soldiers will desert the battlefield increases by a whopping 70 percent when looking at low-inequality vs. high-inequality armies. Defection — when soldiers switch sides and take up arms against their former comrades — is 60 percent more likely at high inequality than low. And armies with medium or greater inequality are far more likely to turn their weapons against their own soldiers. During World War II, for instance, the Soviet Union’s Red Army, one of the world’s most polyglot militaries, resorted to killing an estimated 158,000 of its own soldiers to force them to stand firm against Nazi forces. We sometimes catch glimpses of armies rebuilding themselves during wartime. During the Korean War, for example, the desegregation of the U.S. Army improved the casualty survival rates of integrated regiments over whites-only units fielded early in the war. Progress on equality can be reversed, however, with sharp consequences for battlefield conduct. Here’s an example. The ragtag Mahdist state’s inclusive armies managed to defeat superior Anglo-Egyptian forces in 1881-1885. But the death of the Mahdi leader in 1885 led to a recasting of the state and its military around a narrow ethnocratic vision that violently subjugated most of Sudan’s population. The result? The bitterly divided Mahdist forces, often fighting under duress, were annihilated at Omdurman in 1898 — one of the most lopsided defeats in history. Why this matters for the U.S. military In 2020, as the United States gears up for a return to “great-power competition,” the margin for error against a newly assertive China and revisionist Russia will continue to shrink. Building, retaining and fielding a diverse and truly inclusive military will remain a central challenge for the Defense Department. Removing the structural barriers to inclusion will be one important area of focus. Nonwhite personnel continue to be underrepresented at senior levels, a problem that worsens as one advances up the ranks. Women and nonwhite personnel also experience slower rates of promotion. Progress toward inclusion has also proceeded in fits and starts. Since 1945, the U.S. military has launched at least a half-dozen initiatives to stamp out racial inequalities. For the U.S. military, investing in its people, not just military hardware, and redoubling a commitment to meaningful inclusion would bolster the war-fighting advantages of diversity. The TMC newsletter has moved! Sign up here to keep receiving our smart analysis. Jason Lyall


The Daily 202: Trump skipping John Lewis’s memorial events is part of a pattern of snubbing foes, even in death

and MLB officials hoped the outbreak would be limited to the Marlins, allowing the season to go forward,” Dave Sheinin reports. "While MLB officials stressed the outbreak was limited to just one team, other teams, including the Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves, have experienced multiple positive tests or symptomatic players in recent days. And if an outbreak spreads across one team, it increases the likelihood of the virus being transmitted to an opponent or — in the case of the Yankees, who were about to use the same visiting clubhouse at Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park that the Marlins just vacated — potentially a third team as well. Ten other MLB games scheduled for Monday went forward as expected (though one was eventually rained out), but the Marlins remained under self-quarantine at their Philadelphia hotel awaiting results of teamwide coronavirus tests. … “The NBA and NHL open their seasons this week, the former in a bubble in Florida, the latter with a hub city model in Toronto and Edmonton. Players, staff and media were all required to quarantine before entering the bubble and are not permitted to leave the secure premises. However, baseball’s experience over the past few days — launching a 60-game season starting four months after its original Opening Day and played entirely without fans — presents a sobering outlook for the NFL and college football, both of which hope to play full seasons without bubbles and without the inherent social distancing that baseball, at least theoretically, provides.” An order from Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) went into effect Monday that puts restrictions on anyone coming into Washington from a state that’s considered high-risk. “The order says those who come to the District after ‘nonessential activities’ in one of the high-risk states are required to self-quarantine for two weeks,” Dana Hedgpeth and Julie Zauzmer report. "Officials said travel to and from Maryland and Virginia is exempt from the order. The list of 27 hot-spot states includes Arkansas, Arizona, Alabama, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin. "City officials acknowledged that local authorities would not be able to widely enforce the order — which is similar to rules being put in place by states across the county. But officials said they expect residents and visitors to follow it.


Coronavirus pandemic worsening inequality, especially in housing

Plus, two potential coronavirus vaccines are moving into the last phase of testing with 30,000-person trials, and Notre Dame pulls out of hosting the first presidential debate because of safety concerns.


As Trump demurs, an unimaginable question forms: Could the president reach for the military in a disputed election?

School professor Deborah Pearlstein in a recent essay, the Supreme Court might issue a decision before Inauguration Day, but “some significant (perhaps even violent) fraction of the electorate” might not accept it as legitimate, again raising the possibility of the military being asked to respond to civil unrest. While Trump’s status as commander in chief would not be in question before Jan. 20, military leaders would face the dilemma of how to respond to an order without compromising the military’s status as a trusted national institution. “That would be an everyday scenario in terms of the military’s obligation to decide between lawful and unlawful orders,” Vladeck said. Experts agreed that in the event of a clear court ruling or congressional certification of an electoral winner, the Defense Department would probably comply with those decisions. They also point to laws that would penalize government officials who stayed on and exercised their government powers if they were removed by an incoming president. For the military, such an official could be charged with failing to impede mutiny or sedition. But experts acknowledged the potential for a more ambiguous situation. They say Pentagon leaders should be reviewing electoral procedure — much of which isn’t familiar to most Americans — because U.S. elections aren’t typically the subject of prolonged dispute. “In so many ways it looks like the military is going to have to be thinking about its role in domestic politics in ways it normally doesn’t,” said Risa Brooks, a Marquette University professor who studies civil-military relations across countries. Schake said the events of June forced Pentagon leaders to publicly articulate where they believe the line is between the military and partisan affairs. “It caused both the civilian and military leaderships in the Pentagon to understand the damage that President Trump’s efforts to align the military with his own behavior will do to the relationship between Americans and our military,” she said. Despite moments of turmoil in American history, the peaceful transfer of power has proceeded largely unimpeded according to a tradition set by George Washington. “If you look at history, it’s hard to think of an example where a president has given an order to the military to try to save himself politically and that effort has succeeded. It is not happening,” Beschloss said. “We have a democratic tradition, and we have a process, and even despite these times, those two things remain.”


Democratic lawmakers probing whether CDC guidelines on reopening schools were influenced by political pressure

U.S. lawmakers are probing whether newly released guidelines on reopening schools issued last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were subject to political pressure from President Trump, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos or other administration officials. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Andy Levin (D-Mich.) have sent a letter to DeVos and CDC director Robert Redfield requesting all correspondence between their agencies and the White House that involves the guidance on school reopening during the covid-19 pandemic. Levin is the vice chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, and Warren is a member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Last week, the CDC issued updated guidance on how schools can reopen safely for the 2020-2021 school year. The guidelines included little discussion about the risks of returning to school during the pandemic but emphasized why it was important that students return to classrooms and the economic benefit of parents going back to work. The guidelines were issued after Trump and DeVos called for all public schools to reopen fully and threatened to withhold federal funding from districts that did not (though they can’t take away funding already approved by Congress). The Washington Post reported that the new guidance had been edited by White House officials. The Warren-Levin letter (see in full below) says: In May, the CDC had released school reopening guidance that included detailed safety measures that schools should take when reopening to try to prevent the spread of covid-19. The recommendations including social distancing policies that called for classroom desks to be six feet apart as well as staggered student arrival times, cloth masks for staff and daily temperature screenings for everybody inside the school. The new guidelines for school administrators appear to drop specific reference to keeping students six feet apart and suggest that schools consider closing only if there is “substantial, uncontrolled transmission” of the virus.


How tiny Uruguay, wedged between Brazil and Argentina, has avoided the worst of the coronavirus

[Leer en español] The date wasn’t lost on Uruguayans. After watching the novel coronavirus emerge in China and spread to Europe, the country confirmed its first four cases on Friday the 13th — an apparently ominous opening for a disease that would soon burn a wide path through Latin America. But in the weeks and months that followed the March 13 diagnoses of four recent travelers from Europe, the nation of 3.4 million would keep the virus in check. Wedged between Brazil, suffering the second-worst outbreak in the world, and Argentina, where infections are now surging, Uruguay has reported just 1,064 cases and 33 deaths — unusually low numbers for a Latin American nation testing widely. In June, it became the first country in the region to reopen virtually all public schools. It’s the only country in Latin America from which the European Union will accept visitors. Officials and analysts credit stable and united leadership, a robust national health system and a voluntary but broad lockdown for the country’s relative success so far. “People were asked to enjoy their freedom in a responsible way by staying at home,” said the renowned Montevideo gastroenterologist Henry Cohen, who serves on a committee of scientists advising the government through the pandemic. Nearby Paraguay has enjoyed similar success against the coronavirus, reporting 3,748 cases and 33 deaths. Neighboring Brazil, in contrast, has reported more than 2 million cases and over 80,000 deaths — second in both only to the United States. Argentina, with less population density, has confirmed five times as many cases per capita as Paraguay, and eight times as many as Uruguay. Guillermo Sequera, director of health surveillance in Paraguay’s Ministry of Public Health, says the common thread in countries that have been successful against the coronavirus is early, forceful action and an emphasis on gaining and maintaining the trust of the people. Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou, inaugurated two weeks before the country confirmed its first cases, closed the borders, shut down schools and public spaces, and urged people to quarantine. Uruguayans 65 and older were required to quarantine. The country’s leaders and public health officials had watched the pandemic develop in Asia and Europe and had time to prepare, Cohen said. Politicians set aside their differences and elevated scientists in the country’s response, which helped build public confidence. “From March 13 until the end of April, the political class in


What’s happening in Portland could hurt civilian control of the military. Here’s how.

only to federal officials’ control of the military, but also to state and local government officials’ control of the police. But in Portland, local law enforcement leaders have unofficially worked with federal forces despite objections from both local and state government officials. This amounts to a decision by local law enforcement to adjudicate a political dispute between federal and state authorities, and to side with the feds. Norms of civilian control are difficult to restore once undermined. Political scientists Ron Krebs and Robert Ralston’s research shows that Americans are increasingly comfortable having civilian leaders defer to the armed forces; the events in Portland may worsen that problem. If law enforcement officers, who are armed servants of the state, are not held accountable when they ignore their elected civilian leadership, that could legitimize the military ignoring federal government leaders. When “police” look like soldiers, police abuses harm trust in the military, too. DHS personnel seem to be deliberately styling themselves as a military-like force. As a result, military observers — including Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper — are concerned that the public will believe DHS officers are military personnel and erroneously blame the military for illegal and unpopular actions. That’s a possibility. Before Portland, national polls already showed substantial dissatisfaction with heavy-handed police responses and plurality opposition to using the military against protesters. A military-like police response could reduce trust in the military overall and widen the partisan gap in trust. That could hurt military recruitment. The military already struggles to attract and retain people of color, women and politically liberal youth. Images of military-looking men attacking people protesting police abuses — which mostly affect people of color — may deepen those difficulties. These events strain civil-military relations at the very top. The actions in Portland also put pressure on Department of Defense (DOD) leadership and further pit federal agencies against each other. DHS has complied with Trump’s vision and has curried favor with the White House. In contrast, DOD leadership has been more cautious and conservative about appearing to carry out the president’s domestic agendas. Trump appears to have learned that military leaders will push back against being used to police civilians at home. In June, Esper reversed the president’s decision to send active-duty troops to Washington, D.C., to quell protests. Given this, Trump may be using DHS personnel to avoid this resistance. Scholars of bureaucratic politics note that agencies


Going to Mars during a pandemic isn’t easy. But science must go on.

spent years being built in NASA JPL’s High Bay 1, a room that has been the source of hope for many thousands of scientists and engineers as long as NASA has been NASA. Some of those hopes were fulfilled once their missions got to space, and others met failure, crashed landings and broken parts. On Dec. 27, 2019, NASA let a couple dozen journalists into High Bay 1 to see the rover. HighBay 1 is legendary — both Voyagers were built there, as well as Cassini, which orbited Saturn for 13 years; the Curiosity rover, which is on Mars; and the Jupiter orbiter, Galileo, to name a few. The list is long and impressive. This room has been witness to the birth of dozens of spacecraft. Because there are missions built there that are meant to search for life elsewhere, the clean room and its glossy, white floors meet some of the highest standards on the planet. Before we were allowed anywhere near the front door, we had to spend an hour getting air-showered and putting special “bunny” suits on to protect the rover from our germs. It was a scene we are more familiar with now: Every person had a mask on. All covered up, only our eyes could convey the sheer awe of standing just feet away from the rover. Its giant camera eye stared vaguely out into the room, blissfully unaware of the violent and dangerous seven months it faced. The rover is a work of art as much as a feat of engineering, down to the precision of how the wires hug each curve of circuit boards and heat blankets: This was a rare time when designing for function over form still results in something beautiful. I stood in disbelief that I was just feet away from something that a year later would be (I hoped) driving on the surface of Mars. Everyone in the room was silent with awe and excitement; I think we all waffled between quiet tears and concealing squeals of joy. Standing in High Bay 1 that day meant that I was one of the last people on Earth to see that rover — and one of the few ever to see it at all. The mission has lofty goals built on decades of predecessors. The team hopes to continue to understand Martian geology and learn more about how the planet formed,


‘Revenge travel’ is the phenomenon that could bring back tourism with a bang

all states. A craving for different surroundings was strongest among those in regions with the most severe coronavirus outbreaks. In this vein, it seems the pandemic is not changing our motivations as much as it’s causing each of us to prioritize them differently. Or as one of the leading researchers on tourist behavior and psychology phrases it: “The covid-19 situation has stripped the motivational profile to its basic elements,” wrote Philip Pearce, foundation professor of tourism at James Cook University in Australia, in an email. The pandemic has put a new spin on some of the core reasons we travel, Pearce explains. Take the motivation to relax and escape, which he has defined in his research. “Usually this motive is to forget or leave work stresses,” he wrote. “Now it is about leaving the stresses of the lived-in community and house/apartment life to be in another place where worrying about the problem of the pandemic is less pressing.” Fast forward to a world when pandemic concerns are far less pressing and it’s socially acceptable to plan ambitious trips: Where might the revenge travel hot spots emerge? Right now it’s an open-ended question, but experts are forming theories. If you track what Americans say online, classic driving destinations look primed for a much quicker recovery than international travel. Even as domestic conversations are down, road trips are trending in social conversations among U.S. travelers, according to marketers at Sparkloft Media who have analyzed millions of public posts across major social media platforms, forums and blogs to measure consumer perceptions. There are no signs that this driving trend is ebbing anytime soon. They report that conversations about international travel, on the other hand, are down 49 percent, with the few spikes up being negative chatter about U.S. and European Union border closures. Some silver lining? When international travel does return, Jet Black founder Nabongo believes a “corona hangover” may leave typically overcrowded destinations that suffered from overtourism before the pandemic with fewer visitors. “I am racing to the places I never went because they’re overrun with tourists,” she says. “I lived in Italy for three years and I’ve never been to Venice because there [were] so many tourists.” Read more: The latest trend among wealthy American travelers? Buying another country’s citizenship. These 4 countries are accepting American travelers for remote-work trips The coronavirus is reshaping an old hierarchy: Who can travel where


The latest trend among wealthy American travelers? Buying another country’s citizenship.

For generations, the American passport afforded its holders the privilege of hassle-free travel around much of the world. That has changed with the coronavirus pandemic. While borders are beginning to reopen to international travel, some countries are staying closed to Americans because of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak stateside. These travel restrictions are producing an emerging trend among some wealthy Americans: buying a second passport. “This limitation of mobility has made more people aware of ... the benefits of having more than one passport,” said Armand Arton, the president of financial firm Arton Capital, which specializes in citizenship through investment. The firm defines citizenship by investment as “the process of obtaining a second citizenship and passport by investing in the economy of the host country.” These investments can come in the form of real estate, bonds or various new business ventures. Arton says his firm has seen a 30 to 40 percent increase, year to date, in demand for services that help clients obtain citizenship in a sovereign state through financial means. The price tag for these services varies, ranging from $100,000 for some Caribbean options to more than $2 million for European ones. Before the coronavirus, the plan mainly appealed to Americans for tax purposes, Arton says. But mid-pandemic, motivations have shifted. Some of Arton Capital’s American clients are in mixed-nationality relationships where couples have been separated because of pandemic travel bans. Others are worried about the impact of U.S. politics on their passport’s global standing. “We’ve had Americans contacting us and saying, ‘Listen, I cannot believe that my American super passport cannot get me into as many countries as it used to before. What can I do?’ ” Arton says. “That was never the case for us before.” Now the U.S. passport that once felt like a gift for travelers may feel like a burden. Arton’s new clients fear that if the pandemic carries on for another year or two, they will be trapped by their U.S. passports, so they’re seeking out second passports from countries with investment migration programs. The concept is about 35 years old, Arton says. Today there are approximately 25 countries, including Portugal, Dominica and the United Kingdom, that offer forms of residency or citizenship-by-investment programs as a revenue source. The United States was an early adopter of the program. In 1990, the government created the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa Program, which has received nearly


Coronavirus cases are on the rise in the Midwest as they ebb in the Sun Belt

Plus, President Trump promotes a video full of false covid-19 claims from a doctor who says demons cause illness, and Russia aggressively spreads virus disinformation in the United States.


Trump’s nominee for senior Pentagon job in trouble heading into hearing

President Trump’s nomination of a retired Army general for a senior Pentagon position appeared to be in trouble Wednesday, with Republicans and Democrats alike expressing concern about his partisan attacks, his comments about Islam, and infidelity. Anthony J. Tata, a military officer turned novelist and Fox News commentator, faces mounting opposition from Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee because of his past remarks, which include falsely calling former president Barack Obama a “terrorist leader.” The contested nomination for undersecretary of defense for policy is emblematic of the Trump administration’s difficulty in finding qualified nominees and getting them confirmed. It also highlights anew Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper’s struggles to shield the Pentagon from partisanship while serving under a president who has repeatedly dragged the military into political battles. The influential position has been held on an acting basis since former undersecretary John C. Rood was swept out of the Pentagon in February, after he warned that the administration should not withhold military aid to Ukraine. That issue ended up at the center of Trump’s impeachment and subsequent acquittal along party lines. Sen. James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.), the committee chairman, said in an interview that Trump has made it clear to him that he wants Tata to get a hearing, which is scheduled for Thursday morning. Inhofe, asked about Tata’s past comments, acknowledged that a party-line confirmation vote is possible and aligned himself with Tata, who did not respond to interview requests. “He’s not a real tactful person,” Inhofe said. “But, of course, neither am I. Nor is the president.” Jonathan Hoffman, the chief Pentagon spokesman, said in a statement Wednesday that the department is looking forward “to General Tata having a chance to share his record of leadership and success in public service and his extensive national security experience with the Committee on Thursday.” But it is not clear whether Tata has enough support among Republicans to be confirmed. His nomination could put those who are facing reelection in the difficult position of either facing the president’s wrath or defending their vote. One Republican on the committee, Sen. Joni Ernst (Iowa) expressed doubts about Tata on Tuesday. “You know, I’m still vetting him, but I can’t say that I would be optimistic,” she said in an interview. Ernst added that she has heard “comments from Iowans who are now retired but have worked with him,” and that she values


Lancet editor Richard Horton has harsh words for Trump, hope for science

LONDON — As editor of the Lancet medical journal, Richard Horton has overseen publication of some of the most-cited papers of the coronavirus pandemic, from the first reports from Chinese scientists to the latest on vaccine development. He has also emerged as an outspoken voice on the failures of the global response. In May, his editorial board — based mostly in Britain — stirred controversy by wading into U.S. politics and advocating that Americans should elect a president “who will understand that public health should not be guided by partisan politics.” Now Horton is out with a new book, “The Covid-19 Catastrophe: What’s Gone Wrong and How to Stop it Happening Again.” It is an angry work, thrumming with righteous disbelief over mistakes made in the past six months. He accuses President Trump of a “crime against humanity” for cutting World Health Organization funding during a pandemic. He blames British Prime Minister Boris Johnson for thousands of excess deaths. Horton spoke via Zoom with The Washington Post to explain why he thinks politicians and scientific advisers in the United States and Europe got so much so wrong. He also shared what he expects from research on vaccines and treatments. This interview has been edited for length. Q: A: I think during December last year, Chinese authorities tried to chase down what this mysterious pneumonia was, tried to understand the nature of the outbreak. By the end of the month, they realized they had something very serious on their hands. Q: A: Q: A: What’s so impressive is that this has been a truly global collective effort. Every country’s scientists have responded. And so there’s been this global community effort to bring knowledge to the front lines. You described the book as angry. I was angry, yes. In the early days. And still am, to an extent. But I hope the book’s not fully angry, because I also want to look at the incredible opportunity this pandemic has shown. Before this pandemic, the research community didn’t work as fast or as efficiently on urgent problems. It is phenomenal to go from discovery of a new virus to candidate vaccines in six months. That’s never happened before. Q: A: That’s not just a failure of politicians. It’s the failure of those medical and science advisers who are giving advice to governments, because I don’t think they picked it up quickly enough, either.


Q: A: Now, let’s think about how you would respond. The World Health Organization declares a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on Jan. 30. You would imagine that the Foreign Office or the Prime Minister’s office would ask its embassy in Beijing to give them an immediate report. Within 24 hours, they would have got the message back: A SARS virus is tipping people into the hospital. No treatment, no vaccine, many people dying. Prediction of a global pandemic. So that’s sitting on the prime minister’s desk on Feb. 1. All of that should have been discussed within 48 or 72 hours after the emergency was declared. It didn’t happen. Q: A: Q: A: Q: A: Q: A: Q: A: Q: A: I don’t think many American public health scientists and government advisers read those papers we published. If they did, I don’t think that they took them seriously. I think there was a very serious miscalculation of the risk by American public health scientists. I know Tony Fauci well, and his entire career has been forged on the fight against AIDS. He’s a brilliant scientist. He is a brave man. But something went wrong here. I wish I could give you a clear answer as to why, but I can’t. I really can’t explain it. Q: A: Q: A: They said, “You don’t understand how it works here.” They’re all wearing their Navy uniforms and saying to me, “We can’t be advocates.” Because if you’re a government scientist, you’re there to work within the political infrastructure of whatever administration is in power at that particular time. And if the administration is left or right or whatever, you have to fit into that political ambiance, and you can’t step outside it. And if you do, you’ll be out. Now, fast forward to the administration of Donald Trump, under the particular CDC leadership we have now. It may well have been that there were CDC scientists sitting in Atlanta who read those papers, who understood what was coming. But they’re not allowed to go out there and be advocates. Q: A: Q: A: Q: A: Q: A: Q: A: We need to be as transparent and honest as possible about the evidence. We need to put every vaccine through the correct safety and effectiveness testing. We don’t cut corners, and we listen to what people are saying. We don’t call


For the best stargazing, head to a patch of dark sky

Stargazing is fun to do in the warm summertime, especially during the Perseids meteor shower, which peaks in mid-August. Not every location is a good spot to watch, however. With a little planning, you and your family can enjoy the stellar show. For the best stargazing, you need to get away from outdoor lights, many of which block starlight through light pollution. Light pollution is extra or poorly directed artificial light that can have consequences for humans, animals and the climate. Cities create such a nighttime blaze across the United States that about 80 percent of the population never see the Milky Way, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. To escape that glow, travel at least 60 miles from a major city and find a campground or other spot with low light. Go to a field, lake area or somewhere with a horizon that’s not blocked by trees. Try to look on a clear, moonless night, as the moon tends to block starlight. Take a star chart with you or download a star constellation app on a cellphone. Remember that stars twinkle, planets don’t, and if the object moves across the sky, it’s probably a satellite. If it leaves a streak, it’s a meteor. There are parts of the world officially noted as great places to view meteors, stars such as the Betelgeuse, and star groups such as the Big Dipper. The International Dark Sky Association in Arizona classifies them as Dark Sky Reserves and Dark Sky Parks. Reserves consist of a large, dark core area ringed by cities or towns that have strict light pollution controls. There are 16 reserves in the world, one of which is the 1,416-square-mile Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve. It may have the clearest skies in the Lower 48 states. “It is a unique resource,” says Brian Jackson, an associate professor and astronomer at nearby Boise State University. “The skies there are spectacular.” Dark Sky Parks, which are usually much smaller than reserves, can be found in dozens of other places. These areas have dark-sky programs for visitors and outdoor lighting that doesn’t cause light pollution. Although the bulk of them are in the western United States, eastern locales include: Cherry Springs State Park in Susquehannock State Forest in Pennsylvania; James River State Park near Lynchburg, Virginia; Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park in central Florida; and Rappahannock County Park near Washington, Virginia.


Covid-19 will provoke a societal immunity that can protect us from the next pandemic

lowered the Americas’ population by 50 to 95 percent and global population by roughly 5 to 10 percent. The plague pandemic from 1346 to 1352 cost up to half the population in Europe and North Africa, possibly claiming a quarter of the global population. No one knows how seriously it may have affected East and South Asia or the rest of Africa. It did not touch the Americas. The grisly experience stands alone in the annals of pandemics. We are not at risk of a global measles or smallpox pandemic. Effective vaccines exist, and through globally coordinated campaigns, smallpox was eliminated as a human disease in the late 1970s. But so-called emerging diseases — new to humans if not necessarily to other creatures — do bring this risk. Huge numbers of unidentified viruses and other potential human pathogens are swirling around in bat and rodent colonies. Most of these viruses cannot replicate within human cells, but some surely can. And some will be both more adept at spreading from human to human and more deadly than this coronavirus. When one arrives, we will surely respond better than in 2020. This virus caught us unprepared, despite warnings from epidemiologists, disease historians, journalists and intelligence agencies. These prophets, like Cassandra, were ignored almost everywhere. Collectively, we let our guard down, believing the golden age of health ushered in by vaccines, antibiotics and sanitation infrastructure was permanent — a faith sustained by ignorance of epidemiology and history. Even the SARS outbreak from 2002 to 2004 failed to rouse us from our complacent torpor. It spread inefficiently but was much more dangerous than its later cousin. It helped awaken Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea and to some extent China and Canada to the risks of emerging diseases. But because it killed fewer than 800 people and affected few countries, the alarm was heard mainly by people attuned to epidemiology. In 2020, the likes of President Trump, Jair Bolsonaro, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping struggled to recognize the covid-19 challenge. They were too ignorant of epidemiology and history to imagine what it might become and too ignorant to believe what public health experts were telling them until it was too late. Machiavelli wrote in “The Prince” that evils that may arise in affairs of state, as in medicine, are easily cured if foreseen at a distance, which only the talented can do. “But when, from


Europe scrambles to avoid a second coronavirus wave, as infections rise

BERLIN — Several European countries that had their coronavirus outbreaks under control have begun to see a rise in cases that is feeding fears of a second wave. Governments are urging their citizens to be more vigilant amid the lure of summer gatherings and vacations, while health officials warn that lax public attitudes are putting the continent on a dangerous trajectory. A spike in infections has led Belgium to ramp up restrictions on social contact, while Spain has closed gyms and nightclubs in Barcelona. Meanwhile, German health officials have called a rise in infections in the past two weeks deeply concerning. “People are being infected everywhere,” said Ute Rexroth, head of surveillance at Germany’s Robert Koch Institute, which sounded the alarm on rising numbers on Tuesday. “Weddings, meetings with friends, sadly, also nursing homes or health institutes. We are worried that this could be a change of trend.” The rise in cases across several countries follows weeks of stability that had ushered in a growing sense of normalcy. A wave of reopening measures had come and gone without significant ill effect. People went to movies, dined at restaurants and started working from offices again. But some virologists had warned that openings would inevitably be followed by new infections. Others stressed that successful reopening was dependent on citizens wearing masks and maintaining social distance. And there are signs adherence has been slipping. On the tree-lined streets of Brussels, masks have been a rare sight. In Berlin, famed for its 24-hour pre-pandemic party scene, police have struggled to break up crowds of weekend revelers who gather in parks and open spaces for illicit dance parties. Spanish nightclubs and beaches brimmed with vacationers after European travel restrictions eased. “More and more people are getting relaxed,” said Dirk Brockmann, a professor at Berlin’s Humboldt University who works on pandemic modeling with the Robert Koch Institute. “People are wearing a face mask going shopping or on the subway, but other than that they are going back to normal.” He said that if the rise in infections was linked to reopenings rather than subsequent relaxed behavior, there would have been a stronger indication earlier. What happens now may similarly depend on human behavior, he added. “Potentially people will change their behavior again and we will mitigate,” he said. The number of new cases is still far below what European countries saw during the peak of their


GOP governors are handling covid-19 better than Democrats, but you’d never know it from the news

Against the backdrop of countless news stories about the covid-19 pandemic, much of the coverage from elite media centers in New York and Washington can be boiled down to this theme: Republicans generally and President Trump specifically have done a horrible job managing the novel coronavirus while Democrats have fought valiantly to turn the tide where they hold power. Headlines on this newspaper’s website this past weekend focused on Florida — “Coronavirus ravaged Florida, as Ron DeSantis sidelined scientists and followed Trump” — and imperiled Republicans in the Senate — “As pandemic limits scrutiny, GOP fears lesser-known Democratic candidates will steamroll to Senator majority.” (Florida became the state with the second-highest number of cases over the weekend, surpassing New York.) The awful metrics of covid-19 deaths tell a different story, according to data kept current by Johns Hopkins University. New York has suffered 32,645 deaths; New Jersey 15,804; California 8,455; Illinois 7,608; Pennsylvania 7,131; and Michigan 6,405 fatalities. All of these states have Democratic governors. Republicans hold statehouses in some big states and there the counts look like this: Florida has seen 5,931 deaths, Texas with 5,085 fatalities and Ohio with 3,344. Arizona, also with a GOP governor, has 3,304 dead. Thus, of the 10 states with the most fatalities, the six highest tolls are all in states with Democratic leadership. Republicans run the virus response in states ranked seventh through 10th in this grim lineup. How often have you seen those harshest of facts? Instead, the headlines trumpet new cases, where California leads with 453,155 cases, Florida with 432,747, New York with 412,344 cases and Texas with 394,927. Case numbers follow population totals fairly closely, but Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is pummeled by New York and Beltway media, while New York’s Andrew M. Cuomo (D) gets at least a pass and often praise. Cable news networks follow their well-worn ruts toward predetermined story lines and familiar refrains. Some shows have embraced narratives that seem as repetitious as the playlists of “Top 40” radio stations of decades ago. Coverage of the protests has become just as unbalanced. With protests raging in Portland for nearly two months — and Saturday night bringing violence to other cities such as Seattle and Austin — a great deal of attention has been trained on the president’s completely legal deployment of federal officers to a few cities to protect public property but not on


dead. Thus, of the 10 states with the most fatalities, the six highest tolls are all in states with Democratic leadership. Republicans run the virus response in states ranked seventh through 10th in this grim lineup. How often have you seen those harshest of facts? Instead, the headlines trumpet new cases, where California leads with 453,155 cases, Florida with 432,747, New York with 412,344 cases and Texas with 394,927. Case numbers follow population totals fairly closely, but Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is pummeled by New York and Beltway media, while New York’s Andrew M. Cuomo (D) gets at least a pass and often praise. Cable news networks follow their well-worn ruts toward predetermined story lines and familiar refrains. Some shows have embraced narratives that seem as repetitious as the playlists of “Top 40” radio stations of decades ago. Coverage of the protests has become just as unbalanced. With protests raging in Portland for nearly two months — and Saturday night bringing violence to other cities such as Seattle and Austin — a great deal of attention has been trained on the president’s completely legal deployment of federal officers to a few cities to protect public property but not on who is creating the mayhem and, now, firing shots. The very popular Portland Moms linking arms is a favorite picture; far less is said (or photographed) on elite outlets about the shootings, arsons and lines of black-clad anarchists. My critique of the coverage says nothing about the epidemiology of the disease. I believe that the virus’s relentless march has been fought in good faith by every elected representative; that states hit first have been hit hardest because the public was slow to hear the alarm raised first in the third week of January — on my radio show, among other outlets — and that the public is affected primarily by deeply embedded patterns of human proximity. New York City is crisscrossed by jam-packed subways. Florida, Arizona and California are car states. Montana and Utah are wide open and, in most places, lightly populated; Chicago, Miami and Los Angeles are dense. And where populations are older and concentrated and impoverished, the toll has been highest. The pandemic is not political. It isn’t a Republican or a Democratic disease. Reopening of states led to spread. If the mass demonstrations around Memorial Day did not contribute to spread, it is hard for me


At the heart of dismal U.S. coronavirus response, a fraught relationship with masks

Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended against face coverings for healthy members of the general public. They urged that masks be preserved for front-line health-care workers, especially amid global shortages of personal protective equipment. It was a line repeated by top officials in the Trump administration. CDC Director Robert Redfield was asked in February whether healthy people should wear masks. His answer to Congress was unambiguous: “No.” Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-disease expert, repeatedly told Americans “there is no reason” for anyone in the United States to wear a mask. U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams tweeted on Feb. 29: “Seriously people- STOP BUYING MASKS!” The health officials had made their recommendations based on the flawed assumption that the bulk of transmission was taking place from people with obvious signs of illness. The thinking was that if people with fevers, coughs and other symptoms were to isolate, case counts would remain under control. But it wasn’t long before CDC contact tracers began to find evidence of “silent” spreaders. One report in late March, from a skilled nursing facility in the Seattle area, found 13 asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic patients among 23 residents who tested positive. Many experts backed the anti-mask guidance, arguing they weren’t sure face coverings would make a significant difference. They were worried masks could make people less disciplined about social distancing. But some, including George Gao, the director-general of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, warned that the United States was making a “big mistake” by not mandating masks. Zeynep Tufekci, an information science professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, examined the emerging evidence and knew that hand-washing and isolating the obviously sick wouldn’t be enough. If people were spreading the virus before they had any symptoms, “that’s huge. It’s a whole different ballgame.” Going against both the CDC and the WHO felt like heresy at a time when few mainstream scientists were. But she decided she had no choice. The case that masks could slow asymptomatic spread was compelling. The arguments against — particularly the idea that people might hoard medical-grade masks, when cloth ones could easily be made at home — would only feed resentment. “If you’re paternalistic and you don’t treat the public as a partner, what you end up with is mistrust and polarization,” said Tufekci, who laid out her views in


Nats learning that the coronavirus sets the terms, and the terms are constantly shifting

tough times. We're trying to play through a pandemic.” That reality continues to crash through the sport. The Marlins were temporarily shut down because up to 15 players and two coaches have tested positive for the virus. The Nationals were scheduled to play in Miami this weekend, took a stand and never had to go any further. In one news release Tuesday, MLB shelved the Marlins and the Philadelphia Phillies and set up a matchup between the New York Yankees and Orioles in Baltimore. The Nationals keep finding themselves at the center of this rocky restart. Ryan Zimmerman, Joe Ross and Welington Castillo opted out before summer training began. They had to cancel an early workout after a lag in test results from the MLB-contracted lab in suburban Salt Lake City. They actively considered alternate sites before the District tweaked local quarantine regulations for their players, coaches and staff. They had their first trip changed when the Canadian government told the Blue Jays they couldn’t play in Toronto. And on Opening Day, star left fielder Juan Soto was placed on the Covid-19 Related Injured List after testing positive. Soto received his second lab-confirmed negative result Tuesday and is now waiting for both MLB and the city to clear him. But as it goes in 2020, one obstacle replaced another. A fraught trip to Miami, a still-raging coronavirus hot spot, was next on Washington’s to-do list. Martinez heard rumblings that his players were uneasy. That’s why he called a team meeting Monday, asking those uncomfortable to raise their hands. All but one did, setting Martinez and Rizzo into motion. Martinez doesn’t know if this action pushed MLB to reconsider. He does, however, believe it was important for the players to speak up. “It had nothing to do with the Miami Marlins. It was all about Miami and the state of Florida, this pandemic,” Martinez said before adding that he will soon determine a weekend workout plan with his coaches. “They didn’t feel safe.” On his way into work Tuesday, Martinez was stopped by a D.C. police officer. The surrounding area quickly filled with squad cars. Red and blue lights reflected against the stadium. There was a reported shooting on the 100 block of O Street SE at 12:50 p.m., later confirmed as a suicide. Players were told to stay in their hotel rooms and nearby apartments. Then their group texts lit


The pandemic has made Europe stronger

FOR YEARS, many U.S. politicians and policymakers have derided the European Union as dysfunctional: a half-baked federation that adopted a common currency but not the measures needed to sustain it; a would-be United States of Europe unable to cohere around capable leaders. Early in the coronavirus pandemic, the old critique appeared apt. Italy, Spain and several other nations were riddled with the virus while their leaders angrily traded recriminations. Five months later, the tables have turned. E.U. nations, having largely succeeded in suppressing covid-19 infections, are returning to something resembling normal life, with schools, shops and businesses reopening. Last week, their leaders agreed on a landmark, $2.1 trillion financial package, including $857 billion in loans and grants for recovery financed by common E.U. bonds — a breakthrough toward a more integrated union. Meanwhile, the Europeans have closed their borders to the United States, where the coronavirus spreads uncontrolled and Congress dithers over soon-to-expire unemployment benefits. One statistic captures the yawning transatlantic difference: At the end of last week, the 27 nations of the European Union were averaging 81 deaths a day from covid-19; the United States more than 900. Several causes explain this disparity, including differences in U.S. and European demographics and health-care systems. But the most conspicuous might be quality of leadership. Europe’s coming together has been driven by two centrist politicians, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, who adopted robust measures to control the epidemic in their own countries and then worked jointly to develop and push through the groundbreaking financial package. Though they were caught off guard and badly mauled by the virus, Italy and Spain avoided the mistakes of many U.S. states. They imposed lockdowns that were thorough enough and lasted long enough to push infections down to a manageable level. They will now be the leading beneficiaries of the special recovery grants and loans the European commission will dole out over the next several years. Ms. Merkel, who reversed Germany’s long-standing resistance to issuing E.U. debt to cover the transfers, rightly recognized that failure to act could have led to a collapse of Italy’s finances — and perhaps a rupture of the European Union itself. Those who called the adoption of the plan by an E.U. summit last week the bloc’s “Hamiltonian moment,” in reference to the 1790 assumption of states’ debts by the U.S. government, were overstating it. This was a


Trump retweeted a video with false covid-19 claims. One doctor in it has said demons cause illnesses.

After social media companies removed a viral video showing doctors spreading unsubstantiated information about the novel coronavirus, a phrase inspired by one doctor’s past claims began trending on Twitter: demon sperm. It turns out Stella Immanuel has a history of making particularly outlandish statements — including that the uterine disorder endometriosis is caused by sex with demons that takes place in dreams. The video showed a group that has dubbed itself America’s Frontline Doctors, standing on the steps of the Supreme Court and claiming that neither masks nor shutdowns are necessary to fight the pandemic, despite a plethora of expertise to the contrary. It was live-streamed by the conservative media outlet Breitbart and viewed more than 14 million times — fueled by a tweet by Donald Trump Jr. and multiple retweets by President Trump, which have since been deleted. Facebook, YouTube and Twitter have removed the various iterations of the video. Twitter told The Washington Post that they were “in violation of our covid-19 misinformation policy.” In the viral video, Immanuel made the unsubstantiated claim that hydroxychloroquine is a “cure for covid,” the disease caused by the coronavirus. As a previous Post story put it: “There is no known cure for the novel coronavirus or the disease it causes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization. Multiple studies have disputed claims that antimalarial and antiviral drugs such as hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin and chloroquine can help treat or even prevent the coronavirus. Last month, the FDA revoked an emergency approval that allowed doctors to prescribe hydroxychloroquine to covid-19 patients even though the treatment was untested.” As the Daily Beast’s Will Sommer first noted, Immanuel has asserted that many gynecological issues are the result of having sex with witches and demons (“succubi” and “incubi”) in dreams, a myth that dates back at least to the “Epic of Gilgamesh,” a Sumerian poem written more than 4,000 years ago. She falsely claims that issues such as endometriosis, infertility, miscarriages and STIs are “evil deposits from the spirit husband.” Furthermore, Sommer reported that in “a 2015 sermon that laid out a supposed Illuminati plan hatched by ‘a witch’ to destroy the world using abortion, gay marriage, and children’s toys, among other things, Immanuel claimed that DNA from space aliens is currently being used in medicine.” She also offered prayers through her website to remove generational curses transmitted through placenta.


Study: Pandemic spurred a wave of relocations

While stay-at-home guidelines kept most Americans locked down since the novel coronavirus began to impact the United States, a new survey by the Pew Research Center found that 22 percent (about 1 in 5 U.S. adults) either moved because of the pandemic or know someone who did. Approximately 3 percent of Americans moved permanently or temporarily because of the pandemic, and 6 percent said someone moved into their household because of it. Some households had more than one of these events as families shifted locations to care for one another. The age group most likely either to have moved or to have someone move in with them is young adults. The Pew survey found that 37 percent of people ages 18 to 29 either moved, had someone move in with them or know someone who moved. The survey looked at race and ethnicity and found that 28 percent of Hispanics had one of the three experiences (moving themselves, having someone move in or knowing someone who moved), compared with 24 percent of Asian Americans, 20 percent of white adults and 19 percent of black adults. The likelihood of someone moving or knowing someone who moved is greatest with higher levels of education and income. For example, 28 percent of adults with a bachelor’s degree moved or knows someone who moved, compared with 18 percent of those without a degree. Nearly 1 in 10 adults age 18 to 29 said they moved during the pandemic — the highest share of any age group. Many moved because their college housing was closed or because of a job loss. Among all adults who moved, 28 percent said the most important reason was to reduce their risk of catching the virus, followed by 23 percent moving because their college housing closed and 20 percent who moved to be with family. Another 18 percent moved for financial reasons such as a job loss. While stories of urban dwellers fleeing to their vacation homes were highlighted, only about 13 percent of people who moved went to a second home. Approximately 61 percent of adults relocated to a home belonging to a family member and 7 percent moved in with a friend. Among households who had someone move in, 47 percent were an adult child or spouse of an adult child and 18 percent were a parent or in-law. Approximately 25 percent had a friend move in


In Michael Phelps documentary, Olympians share how system pushed them into mental health issues

as a track race of hers came on TV, leading to some confused looks. Phelps notes that while he was “fortunate” to garner a slew of sponsorships, a less prominent member of the U.S. swimming team would have to make do with a stipend of $1,700 a month. “If that’s the only thing you have,” he says, “it’s almost impossible” “The whole thought that going to the Olympics, and especially if you win a medal, sets you up for life, is such horses— t,” declares Gold. Compounding the athletes’ challenges in coping with what Gold describes as the possible “side effects” of becoming an Olympian — including “an eating disorder, depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation” — was what they perceived to be a glaring lack of concern for their mental well-being on the part of coaches and Team USA administrators. Phelps says no one cared how athletes were feeling inside. “As long as we were performing,” he tells the camera, “I don’t think anything else really mattered.” Part of the problem came from the athletes themselves, as Cohen explains, but even that tied into the culture of reaching the Olympics. “This is war. … You need to show the world that you are strong,” she says, noting that admitting mental health is a personal issue seems “so fundamentally at odds with being a competitor.” Phelps agrees, describing Olympians as “definitely a group who want to keep their pain out of sight.” “We all seem like something’s fine until we get to that one breaking point,” Gold says, “where either we’re fortunate enough for somebody to see us, or we’re not lucky, and we die.” Phelps lists the names of U.S. Olympic athletes who took their lives in the past decade, such as aerial skier and silver medalist Jeret “Speedy” Peterson, rifle competitor Stephen Scherer, cycling silver medalist Kelly Catlin and judoka Jack Hatton. The “news that may have hit the hardest,” he says, was death of bobsledding gold and silver medalist Steven Holcomb. His 2017 death, revealed toward the end of “The Weight of Gold,” may also come as a bit of a shock to viewers unfamiliar with his story, given that he is seen throughout talking to the camera about his struggles with mental health. No one, though, was as deeply affected as Uhlaender, a close friend of Holcomb’s who found his body at the Olympic Training Center in Lake


Prince George’s investigating circumstances of death of health department employee

Prince George’s County is investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of Chantee Mack, who was one of more than 20 employees in the county Health Department who tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Union officials say After news reports on the allegations last week, Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks (D) said Thursday that the county is conducting an investigation into Mack’s death, which she called “the worst-case scenario.” “I want to know what happened,” Alsobrooks said at a news conference with Health Officer Ernest L. Carter. “I know Dr. Carter wants to make sure that there is nothing different we should be doing right now to make sure we are protecting the health and safety not only of Prince Georgians, but those who are working on the front lines.” Carter said the Health Department was focused on saving lives, noting that Prince George’s has long led the state in the number of infections. The number of new cases in the county, and across the region, is again ticking upward after weeks of decline. “We did the work we had to do,” he said of early actions taken by the Health Department in March, when the first employee tested positive for the coronavirus. He said the department followed guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Both Carter and Alsobrooks noted that what officials know about the virus and how it spreads has dramatically changed since March. Alsobrooks said plans for county employees to return to work in phases have been rolled back because of the danger the virus poses. They will instead continue to telework, she said. Mack Union officials said Mack’s requests were supported by her immediate supervisor but were denied by Diane Young, an associate director with the family health services division. Young has not responded to requests for comment. Mack, who lived in Laurel, started feeling sick in early April and was admitted to the hospital April 14 after she started struggling to breathe, said her older brother, Aric Mack. She died May 11. Her younger brother, Roland Mack, said Thursday that he had heard from her co-workers that there might be an investigation but still has not heard directly from Alsobrooks or leaders at the Health Department. Alsobrooks’s spokesman, John Erzen, said the investigation should be completed within a few weeks.


MLB’s coronavirus crisis continues as Phillies report two positive tests for staff members

including a visitors’ clubhouse attendant. A statement from the Phillies on Thursday said all activity at Citizens Bank Park was canceled “until further notice,” and the Phillies’ three-game series this weekend at home against the Toronto Blue Jays was postponed — bringing to 14 the number of games postponed in the wake of the Marlins’ outbreak. In attempting to play this season outside the “bubble” models used by the NBA, the WNBA and MLS — instead keeping its 30 teams in 30 different stadiums and traveling between cities — MLB was aware of the risk of outbreaks and accounted for them, in part, by allowing teams to carry 30 players each, with an additional 30-man supplemental roster. However, the extent of the Marlins’ outbreak surprised MLB officials, who before the season drafted a 113-page document containing the health and safety protocols for 2020. Even as MLB investigates the origins of the Marlins’ outbreak and weighs changes to those protocols, another immediate issue is maintaining the flow and competitive integrity of the season schedule. The rash of postponements in the wake of the Marlins’ outbreak altered the schedules of six teams. The Marlins, who remain in self-isolation at their Philadelphia hotel, and the Phillies are sidelined until at least Monday, by which point they will have been off for a week. The Blue Jays and Washington Nationals will have the weekend off as a result of the postponements. The Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees had two games postponed this week. As of now, the Phillies are scheduled to travel to Miami next week for three games, but it appears likely there will be additional alterations to the schedule affecting at least those games, if not more. On Monday, Nationals players voted near-unanimously against playing a three-game series in Miami this weekend — a series that ultimately was postponed by MLB, avoiding a potential clash. The postponements and the small window in which to make up games make it likely some teams will wind up playing fewer than 60 games this season, even if the season is completed, in which case division standings and playoff berths could be decided by winning percentage. Read more on Players’ reluctance to go to Miami in wake of Marlins’ outbreak may be new vulnerability for MLB A guide to MLB’s extra-innings rule for 2020 On Opening Day, baseball’s return is nothing short of a miracle


These travelers had been to almost every country in the world. Then came the coronavirus.

verifies those who engage in competitive travel, said its database lists roughly 250 people who have earned that distinction (some of whom are now deceased). This style of exploration had exploded in popularity over the past couple of decades, until the novel coronavirus effectively cut off its trajectory. In 2000, it was believed that only 12 people had ever ventured to every U.N. country. But in 2019 alone, at least 39 people set foot in their last country. They nearly double the 2018 number (and make up nearly 16 percent of the cumulative total). Mitsidis credits three conditions for rising interest in “country counting”: the increasingly widespread openness of borders, decreased costs of travel because of greater infrastructure, and a new wealth of networks and support for those keen on joining the 193er club. Between January and early March, nine people accomplished the feat, so it’s likely that 2020’s total would have been greater than the preceding year’s. However, it’s unlikely more finishers will be added to the list in 2020. Sam Hawthorne When he was offered a repatriation flight, he declined. His final few countries are largely in the Pacific, and he’d hoped a travel bubble would open up between the neighboring nations. Now the odds that he’ll defeat the current record holder by the October deadline look slim. Traveling pair “Realizing that left us with a bigger purpose: to inspire other women travelers,” Sebova said, adding that she hopes the one takeaway others learn from their story is that the denizens of the world are largely good and that it’s not as dangerous to travel around the world as one might think, even if you have two X chromosomes. At present, they’re missing nine countries, though they include the U.N. observer states (the Vatican, which they’ve been to, and the Palestinian territories, which they have not) in their count. Australia, where Sebova and Davey are currently based, has a ban on its residents leaving the country, even if other countries open up. Sebova said they hope to be able to finish their journey in 2021. But even when they are able to leave, it will take months to replan. It took six months alone to get the paperwork approved and the mandated local guides hired for Libya, one of their few remaining nations. In early March, they were transiting through London en route to what would have been


The unemployment insurance problem is a microcosm of a much bigger problem

disproportionately families of color — the same groups who have been most susceptible to covid-19 infections and death: “About 26 million adults — 10.8 percent of all adults in the country — reported that their household sometimes or often didn’t have enough to eat in the last seven days … The rates were more than twice as high for Black and Latino respondents (20 and 19 percent, respectively) as for white respondents (7 percent) … An estimated 13.1 million adults who live in rental housing — 1 in 5 adult renters — were behind on rent for the week ending July 7. Here, too, the rates were much higher for Black (30 percent) and Latino (23 percent) renters than white (13 percent) renters.” Republicans, however, want these folks to be motived by the benefit cuts to get out there and find jobs. But that’s where the 11.1 percent unemployment rate, along with the fact that employment is significantly slowed in July compared to May and June, come in. Job seekers thrust into the labor market are contestants in an unforgiving game of musical chairs, with far more players than seats right now. And those in the bottom half of the income scale have virtually no savings to fall back on. The reason this is such a challenge for contemporary Republicans is that there’s no place in their governing model for dealing with any sort of market failures, or for that matter, shocks of any kind. But contemporary American governance requires coherent plans with amply funded systems in place for dealing with pandemics, recessions, massive storms (those 100-year floods that now happen yearly), bursting credit bubbles, stubborn inequalities, systemic racial injustice and violence and simply the maintenance of democracy (e.g., functional, inclusive voting). Much like today’s Republicans are proposing an economic plan that ignores the reality of high unemployment and retrenching commerce, in every one of these cases, their party has long been in denial. The pandemic will take care of itself, global warming is a hoax, Wall Street self-regulates, inequality is meritorious, there are good people on both sides of racial attacks. Forget the recession, everybody just “find something new” and get back to work. Instead, their agenda has largely focused on cutting taxes for their donor base and deregulating the finance and extractive industries. In some cases, they’ve argued these policies will fix the actual problems we face. For