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Volkswagen of America announced it was changing its name to "Voltswagen" — an early April Fool's Day joke that tricked many people.
ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
It's not April Fools' Day yet, but the pranks started early this year. Yesterday, Volkswagen announced it was changing its name in the U.S. to Voltswagen - V-O-L-T, like electricity. The corporate press release turned out to be fake, but it had a real effect on headlines and stock markets, as NPR's Camila Domonoske reports.
CAMILA DOMONOSKE, BYLINE: The name change was just a marketing stunt for the electric SUV, the ID.4. Volkswagen of America was evidently surprised by the media response. Mark Gillies is the senior manager of product communications.
MARK GILLIES: I don't think we expected them to take it as seriously as they did. I mean, one of the things we didn't do is we didn't trademark the name, for instance. So that was probably a pretty good clue it wasn't happening.
DOMONOSKE: There weren't many other clues, no obvious jokes. The press release went out through official channels with all the trappings of a real effort to generate buzz around a new brand. Gillies says he apologizes to people in the media who feel duped. And full transparency, he was talking to someone in the media who was duped - me. He was talking to me.
GILLIES: It was, again, having fun with the brand and talking about, you know, the future.
DOMONOSKE: A lot of people didn't think it was fun. Dan Ives is a stock analyst with Wedbush.
DAN IVES: From a industry, from an investor, from a media perspective, you know, many got fooled, including ourselves. And I think it's one where it leaves a bit of a bad taste in the mouth.
DOMONOSKE: Companies release silly April Fools' announcements all the time, but Ives says he's never seen an April Fools' joke have this kind of response. Investors believed it. Volkswagen's stock prices went up.
IVES: Twenty-one years in the Street, this is definitely a first. And I think ultimately, it's going to potentially have some ramifications.
DOMONOSKE: Lost trust, for one thing - this is a company still recovering from the Dieselgate scandal. They paid billions of dollars for lying about emissions. As for whether regulators will be interested in this false statement moving stock markets, the Securities and Exchange Commission declined to comment. And did it even work as a marketing stunt? Jessica Caldwell is the executive director of insights for the automotive data site Edmunds.
JESSICA CALDWELL: I didn't see a lot of, like, let me check out the ID.4 because I feel like that product name was not necessarily attached to the message. So, you know, I'm not really sure if it was as successful as Volkswagen envisioned it to be. You know, it definitely backfired.
DOMONOSKE: And she's still kind of salty that this April Fools' joke dropped on March 30.
CALDWELL: You can't do a New Year's Eve countdown on December 28. You don't just get to pick the days you want to celebrate these holidays.
DOMONOSKE: Timing aside, one reason why this seemed plausible is because there is a huge shift happening in the auto industry. Two weeks ago, Volkswagen Group's CEO, Herbert Diess, described the plan to go electric.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
HERBERT DIESS: Our transformation will be fast. It will be unprecedented. The transformation will be bigger than anything the industry has seen in the past century.
DOMONOSKE: So while a name change would have been drastic, it would fit with that kind of transformation. And it's not just VW. The entire auto industry is gearing up for a massive shift toward battery-powered vehicles. And unlike the name Voltswagen, that change is not a joke.
Camila Domonoske, NPR News.
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SUGAR LAND, Texas – Chet Hanks – the son of Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson – and his girlfriend Kiana Parker lived in Sugar Land when their relationship recently ended in violence, court documents say.
The younger Hanks and Parker have taken legal action against each other since the January incident, and a Fort Bend County judge granted a protective order against him.
In a lawsuit Hanks filed against Parker this month, his attorney said Hanks ended the relationship in January after he learned that Parker “fraudulently made charges to his debit card,” totaling more than $5,000.
The next day, Parker “brought three menacing large men” to their Sugar Land rental home, court documents say, and Parker “smashed (Hanks) over the face with (a) pot and cut him with (a kitchen) knife,” causing him to bleed “profusely.”
In her request for a protective order following the same incident, Parker said the three men were helping her move out and that she was the victim of physical and verbal abuse by Hanks that day, and many times prior.
“(H)e pushed me against the cars and wrestled me around the cars” outside their Sugar Land home that day in January “while dragging me across the pavement,” Parker wrote in an affidavit. “I was screaming and asking for help.”
A bystander called Sugar Land police. A spokesperson for the department confirmed that officers responded to the scene that day.
“(Parker) told police she arrived at the house to retrieve personal belongings, and her boyfriend assaulted her and damaged her cell phone,” the police report said. “The woman suffered visible injuries to her elbow and arm.”
“Sugar Land PD later charged Chester Marlon Hanks, 30, of California, with assault family violence. The charges were submitted to the Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office,” the police report concluded.
In the end, the Fort Bend County DA’s office did not accept charges against Hanks. However, a Fort Bend County judge granted Parker’s request for a protective order against Hanks.
“The Court finds that family violence has occurred, was committed by Chester Marlon Hanks, and there is a clear and present danger that family violence committed by Chester Marlon Hanks is likely to occur again in the future unless restrained by the Court,” the protective order said.
Hanks faces a fine and up to six months in jail if he violates the protective order, which prohibits him from communicating with Parker, going near her, and possessing a firearm, among other things.
Parker’s attorney, Marty Singer, called Parker’s claims “completely false, fabricated and fictional.”
“The day after Chet Hanks confronted Kiana Parker about stealing money from his credit card, while Ms. Parker was accompanied by a huge male carrying a gun, she viciously attacked Chet with a knife, which caused him to profusely bleed,” the statement said in part. “It is all on video and the undisputed video tells the whole story.”
Singer’s office did not provide the video mentioned in the statement.
I can’t tell you how grateful I am that none of my three kids require glasses at this point, not because they don’t look absolutely adorable in them because they totally would, but because it means their chance of having progressive myopia is very low.
While Arthur, 13, briefly wore glasses a couple of years back, the problem seems to have resolved, a case of a childhood condition known as pseudo myopia. According to our family optometrist, the fact that the kids have made it to their teen years without needing glasses means they will likely escape the high-prescription progressive myopia and astigmatism that I’ve struggled with my whole life.
However fortunate my crew is, globally, people are experiencing high myopia at unprecedented rates, and no one really knows why. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the number of nearsighted Americans rose from 25% in the ’70s to 40% today.
Among those numbers, 4% are considered to have high myopia, which means they have extreme nearsightedness of -6 or stronger. My vision is on the high end of this at -9.5 and -8.5. For a sense of what life is like at this level of nearsightedness, here is a video from Kev’s World to give you a preview of life at -11. Factor in my level of astigmatism, and I would say this is a close enough representation of my own vision without corrective lenses.
So what’s causing the global increase in myopia? Experts believe genetics may play a role but that the data seem to indicate environmental factors we don’t fully understand.
The science is continuing to move toward solutions, with experts developing innovative solutions like orthokeratology, a preventative treatment in which a patient wears a special contact lens while they sleep to reshape their cornea and then removes it during the day.
A few things, however, are certain:
My glasses were already noticeably thick by middle school. As an overweight, awkward girl with a jaw deformity that would later require surgical correction, I felt like the thick, heavy lenses were just one more painful strike against me and a barrier between myself and the world that prevented me from being seen for the person I was.
My first rigid gas permeable contact lenses in seventh grade couldn’t have come at a better time; I proudly strolled into school wearing my new contacts in that shade of Avatar Teal that was ubiquitous in the late ’80s and early ’90s on everything from those crinkly Umbro shorts to my friend’s sporty little Daihatsu Rocky. My eyes were always dry and irritated and my life was punctuated with periodic “Stop everything, I dropped my contact lens” events, but by God, I wasn’t trapped behind those uncomfortable lunch lady glasses anymore.
About that time, my mom underwent radial keratotomy, the predecessor of today’s LASIK surgery. My doctor told me that as soon as I stopped growing, I would most likely be able to undergo the same procedure.
But as the years progressed, my vision progressively worsened, and by the time I was old enough, I was not a candidate for the surgery due to the severity of my vision problems, something to do with the thickness of my cornea. My doctor, however, optimistically told me that the surgery was improving every few years and that I may eventually be a candidate down the road.
Disappointingly, this turned out not to be true as my vision has continued to worsen from one year to the next, a condition known as progressive high myopia that affects about .33% of Americans today.
To boot, my contact lens options have become increasingly limited as time goes by due to my astigmatism combined with high myopia. Although the super cool lenses that fully change eye color from brown to violet or green to blue were never available in my prescription strength, one of the things that had always made my bad eyesight more bearable in my younger years was the availability of tinted lenses that slightly made my eye color pop and offered me some aid when I dropped a lens. But eventually, the only available lens for me was a rather spendy clear toric contact lens.
That’s about the time I started sleeping in my glasses after too many worrisome moments of waking up and not being able to locate where they are. Without my glasses, I can only discern colors and large shapes. That meant if I woke up in the middle of the night and there was an emergency in the house, I would not be able to quickly run to my kids or take care of what I needed to, so I switched out my sleep mask for my glasses, which I now wear while I sleep each night.
By the time I reached my mid-thirties, my vision had started to become less correctable. Like many people as they near their fourth decade of life (including my husband), I began to experience farsightedness in addition to my nearsightedness and astigmatism.
What that combo means for my everyday life:
Weirdly, I can perform some of these tasks better with my 14-year-old “sad glasses,” which means everything is extremely blurry and I miss a lot of details, but I don’t end up with eye pain or disorientation. Nonetheless, due to the poor peripheral vision I experience with glasses, I still have to wear my contacts when performing activities like driving and shopping where peripheral vision is necessary.
All of these problems are extremely frustrating, but at least I can correct my vision to a functional point. I have had friends with blindness, and I have seen how many challenges they have to overcome in their daily lives. I have always reminded myself that I’m very fortunate to have corrective lenses at all.
Nonetheless, for individuals living with extremely high prescription, having access to regular eye care and quality lenses is essential to quality of life and the ability to work and perform basic tasks.
The first thing to know about high index vision problems is that anyone with untreated or under-treated poor vision is missing out on opportunities in their lives. According to researchers, quality of life is negatively correlated with poor vision, central vision loss, and peripheral vision loss.
Additionally, individuals with extremely poor eyesight are more at risk for all of the following:
And then there’s the measurable monetary cost of vision care:
When you have typical myopia or other vision problems, the most expensive cost is often associated with optometrist appointments. If you have a pretty run-of-the-mill prescription and you’re just getting your prescription checked, you can get deals on a couple of pairs of glasses and a basic eye exam for about $60. Contact lens exams are more expensive, costing between about $100 if you get a deal to the more than $200 that I pay for the higher level of imaging recommended when you have significant vision conditions.
If you want to skate by on the same prescription for a few years, that’s only possible in a few states, and Oklahoma isn’t one of them. In our fine state, a vision prescription is only good for one year, which means you’re paying that $200 annually unless you want to keep wearing the same old glasses and contacts.
Contact lenses should never be stretched out in that way, so you have to get more crafty if you can’t afford a new eye exam. Until December 31, 2020, I had found a way to purchase contacts from the UK, where a recent prescription wasn’t required. But thanks to a recent FDA crackdown, that option is no longer available.
The unfortunate side effect of that crackdown is that people living in socioeconomically disadvantaged situations cannot afford those expensive appointments, and low-income vision programs generally only offer very basic eyeglasses exams (individuals with high myopia often require additional testing due to increased risk of retinal damage).
For anyone with high myopia whose quality of life and ability to work and drive is greatly improved with contact lenses, access to affordable contacts can be life-changing. And unfortunately, there are no affordable solutions for many individuals with high myopia vision correction issues.
As for the actual expense of high myopia contact lenses? My toric lenses cost about $200 per year if I replace them as often as I’m supposed to (I don’t), but depending on an individual’s specific needs, that amount can skyrocket to as much as $700 per year for presbyopia contact lenses. You’ll also need to purchase contact lens solution, which can cost between $80 to $200 per year.
As for glasses, cheap options like Zenni don’t do high myopia patients much good. Sure, you can get cheap frames for under $10 all day on the Internet, but the lenses themselves are ungodly expensive.
With eyeglasses lenses, the stronger your prescription, the more limited your options become. As this chart breaks down, the best option for individuals with a prescription of +9 or -9 or above is known as a 1.74 index lens. Depending on your vision strength, you might be able to go to a 1.6 or 1.67 lens, but your glasses will be incredibly thick and heavy and they’re still quite expensive at that point.
For a 1.74 lens, you’re looking at a baseline of about $150 for the lenses alone, not including the frames. And if you need special lenses like progressive lenses, you’re looking at $350 and up.
While it may be possible to order them online a little cheaper, people with strong prescriptions often need help picking out the right frames and understanding how they will work with high-index lenses.
I learned this the hard way when I recently ordered glasses through my optometrist and had a more hands-off experience than I have in the past when ordering them, partly due to COVID. I did not understand that ordering a larger lens would mean that even my 1.74 glasses would be extremely thick and strange-looking due to light refraction.
When my glasses arrived and I cheerily went to pick them up, I tentatively tried them on and they felt good. But as I stepped outside into the bright entrance of my doctor’s office, I realized there was a thick, fish-bowl ring around the perimeter of my vision field that made it hard to see in the sunlight. I looked up at the mirror located in the entryway and to my horror, my eyes looked small, beady, and distorted, and my left lens was a hair shy of a half-inch thick. By the time I got to my car, I was in tears.
As much as my glasses cost me, you’d better believe I plan to reorder a different pair. But needless to say, the importance of personalized care when ordering high-index prescription lenses cannot be overstated.
All in all, my vision care would cost about $700 per year on the low end if I was replacing both my glasses and contact lenses as often as I should be. Because I can’t afford that, I usually only replace my glasses about once every 6-10 years and then buy contacts when I can’t stretch them out any more.
Although I am fortunate enough to be able to afford my vision care this year thanks to the latest stimulus package, for several years when we struggled with food insecurity, my vision care was a luxury we couldn’t begin to afford, which meant wearing the same contact lenses for months longer than they are recommended, a risky practice many struggling Americans engage in, or even going without altogether.
I’ve never really understood why something as important as vision care or dental care isn’t part of our regular health insurance policies in this country, since both are connected to whole-body health, quality of life, and ability to earn money.
As it turns out, it dates back to the origins of Blue Cross and Blue Shield, which were created by doctors who didn’t see ophthalmologists and dentists as “real doctors,” so nearly 100 years later, we’re stuck with terrible institutionalized healthcare that doesn’t include vision and dental care (you can read an excellent analysis of America’s weird relationship with vision and dental care here).
But in light of the blazing house fire that is American health care, the issue of vision insurance is a broken pipe in the kitchen. Important, but way down on the priority list.
For my part, I’ve come to realize vision insurance is not worth the expense for high-prescription vision problems. Vision insurance costs $16.95 for the cheapest possible option if you buy it without a discount of some kind. That adds up to be $200 a year. You’ll still pay a copay, and if you have high myopia or another extremely poor vision issue, your insurance won’t nearly cover your appointment as well as both glasses and contact lenses, and you’ll need both. In the long run, you’re still paying about the same price with or without insurance.
At my last eye appointment, I learned that I have what’s known as myopic macular degeneration. Put as simply as possible, this means a person’s eyes stretch more and more as myopia worsens over time so they basically become elongated, more like footballs than basketballs. In a person with myopic macular degeneration, the eye or eyes become so stretched that the eye itself becomes damaged, leading to eventual blindness in as little as a decade.
My doctor recommended that I speak with an ophthalmologist about getting lens replacement surgery, which could prevent me from losing my vision down the road. Before making that appointment, I looked up the cost, an average of about $4000 per eye. Suffice it to say there is no point in contacting the ophthalmologist because I can’t remotely afford it.
And then I started to wonder: How many cases of blindness would be preventable if people with extreme prescriptions had access to the same eye care as people with more money? How many people are pushed further into poverty because they can’t afford eye care because of poverty or even just being working class?
According to the CDC, early treatment for vision problems is crucial to preventing vision loss, and yet millions of Americans who are at risk of vision loss go untreated each year. And as with all health care issues, already marginalized and underserved communities like Black and Brown Americans are hit the hardest.
As we continue to have conversations about healthcare in the United States, we must include vision care in those conversations. With extreme myopia on the rise and affecting nearly twice as many women as men, better funding and access to high myopia vision care will expand opportunities and quality of life for millions of Americans who are already at risk due to socioeconomic indicators.
Sadly, in all of my research, I have seen very little attention to this issue. But with generation after generation increasing in prevalence of high myopia, if we don’t better fund treatment and research and expand access to basic and strong-prescription eye care coverage, it could affect future generations on a scale we can’t fully imagine.
Vision care access is an issue of equality, and people with high myopia and other significant eye care conditions need expanded coverage to experience the same quality of life as other individuals with access to basic eye care treatment. I strongly urge you to continue exploring these issues and bring them up as you advocate for social justice through access to healthcare.
Thank you for reading, and have a beautiful week in your little nebula!
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Editorial: Local communities working together to vaccinate many The Times Herald
DONNA, Texas — The Biden administration for the first time Tuesday allowed journalists inside its main border detention facility for migrant children, revealing a severely overcrowded tent structure where more than 4,000 people, including children and families, were crammed into a space intended for 250 and the youngest were kept in a large play pen with mats on the floor for sleeping.
With thousands of children and families arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border in recent weeks and packing facilities, President Joe Biden has been under pressure to bring more transparency to the process. U.S. Customs and Border Protection allowed two journalists from The Associated Press and a crew from CBS to tour the facility in Donna, Texas, in the Rio Grande Valley, on the condition they share their reporting with other outlets as part of a pool arrangement.
More than 4,100 people were being housed on the property Tuesday, 3,400 of them unaccompanied children and the rest people who arrived in families, a mix of parents and children. Most were unaccompanied children processed in tents before being taken to facilities run by the Department of Health and Human Services and then placed with a family member, relative or sponsor.
The children were being housed by the hundreds in eight “pods” formed by plastic dividers, each about 3,200 square feet in size. Many of the pods had more than 500 children in them, spaced closely together and many of them laying on the ground on mats and foil blankets.
Oscar Escamilla, acting executive officer of the U.S. Border Patrol in the Rio Grande Valley, said 250 to 300 kids enter daily and far fewer leave.
The youngest children — among them, 3-year-old girl being cared for by her 11-year-old brother and a newborn with a 17-year-old mother — are kept out of the pods and sleep in a playpen area.
“I’m a Border Patrol agent. I didn’t sign up for this,” Escamilla said.
On Tuesday, journalists watched children being processed. They went into a small room for lice inspection and a health check. Their hair was hosed down and towels were tossed in a black bin marked “Lice.” The kids — many of whom have made long journeys to get to the border, including stretches on foot — were also checked for scabies, fever and other ailments. No COVID-19 test was administered unless a child showed symptoms.
Nurse practitioners also gave psychological tests, asking children if they had suicidal thoughts. All shoelaces were removed to avoid harm to anyone.
The children were then led down a green turf hall to a large intake room. Those 14 and older are fingerprinted and have their photo taken; younger children did not.
They went to a second intake room where they got notices to appear for immigration court. Border Patrol agents asked them if they had a contact in the U.S. and allowed the child to call that person.
Children were given bracelets with a barcode that shows a history of when they showered and medical conditions.
Outside the facility, the roar of construction equipment could be heard along with air conditioning units.
The Biden administration has continued expelling adults who try to cross the border under a coronavirus-related public health declaration enacted by former President Donald Trump. Biden also has tried to expel most families traveling together, but changes in Mexican law have forced agents to release many parents and children into the U.S.
Biden has declined to resume the Trump-era practice of expelling unaccompanied immigrant children. Several hundred kids and teenagers are crossing the border daily, most fleeing violence, poverty or the effects of natural disasters in Central America. In some cases, parents refused entry into the U.S. have sent their children across the border alone, hoping they will be placed with relatives eventually.
The Border Patrol is apprehending far more children daily than Health and Human Services is placing with U.S. sponsors, leading to a severe backlog in the system. The Border Patrol generally is not supposed to detain children for more than three days, but Health and Human Services lacks space.
More than 2,000 kids have been at the Donna facility for more than 72 hours, including 39 for more than 15 days.
“The intent of the Border Patrol is not detention. We’re not in the business of detention,” said Escamilla, the official who supervised the media tour. “We’re forced into the business because we can’t turn them over to anybody.”
HHS is housing children at convention centers in Dallas and San Diego and is opening large-scale sites in San Antonio, El Paso and elsewhere.
Biden has been sharply criticized by Republicans seeking to defend Trump’s immigration record, which includes the separation of thousands of immigrant families under a “zero tolerance” policy.
Experts believe Korean biopharmaceutical technology’s competitiveness is still inferior to advanced pharmaceutical countries in many areas, a recent survey has shown.
Experts rated domestic biopharmaceutical technology's competitiveness as mediocre, giving an average of 5.8 points on a 9-point basis.
The respondents said that Korea possesses the highest technology in antibody drugs, including biosimilars, with a score of 7.1 points. In contrast, gene therapy products, such as gene therapy rated lowest with 4.2 points.
The survey said that although Korea has the experience and production capabilities through the development of generics and biosimilars, it lacks experience in developing innovative new drugs. They stressed it is necessary to improve target discovery capabilities, such as finding candidate substances and developing original technologies.
The Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI) conducted the opinion poll using a Delphi method, a structured communication technique developed as a systematic method that relies on a panel of experts.
The poll showed that Korea falls behind in size and appropriateness of distribution with a score of fewer than 5 points, with many evaluating that private R&D investment was also insufficient.
Respondents stressed that the local biopharmaceutical industry's low competitiveness compared to leading countries was due to the absence of strategic R&D, professional manpower, government R&D investment, and cooperation between local and foreign research institutes.
According to the KHIDI, the survey responses were in line with a research that scored national biopharmaceutical technology competitiveness through patent analysis.
The patent impact index score (PII), which indicates the technology's quality, was 0.6 for cell therapy, 1.3 for vaccines, 0.4 for gene therapy, and 0.6 for antibody drugs. The results showed that the nation ranked below the standard value of 1 for all other categories showing poor technology level asides from vaccines.
In the technology strength (TS) index ranking, which represents the qualitative and quantitative level of technology, Korea was fourth in cell therapy products (16.6), sixth in gene therapy products (5.4), ninth in antibody drugs (202.5), and 10th in vaccines (124.5), confirming that the country’s technological prowess was weak compared to advanced countries in both quality and quantity.
To strengthen technological competitiveness, experts stressed that the government should expand R&D investment and focus on selected fields, nurture professional manpower, support policy for expanding private R&D investment, and enhance cooperation among overseas research institutes.
DONNA, Texas (AP) — The Biden administration for the first time Tuesday allowed journalists inside its main border detention facility for migrant children, revealing a severely overcrowded tent structure where more than 4,000 people, including children and families, were crammed into a space intended for 250 and the youngest were kept in a large play pen with mats on the floor for sleeping.
With thousands of children and families arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border in recent weeks and packing facilities, President Joe Biden has been under pressure to bring more transparency to the process. U.S. Customs and Border Protection allowed two journalists from The Associated Press and a crew from CBS to tour the facility in Donna, Texas, in the Rio Grande Valley, the nation’s busiest corridor for illegal crossings.
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More than 4,100 people were being housed on the property Tuesday. Most were unaccompanied children processed in tents before being taken to facilities run by the Department of Health and Human Services and then placed with a family member, relative or sponsor.
The children were being housed by the hundreds in eight “pods” formed by plastic dividers, each about 3,200 square feet (297 square meters) in size. Many of the pods had more than 500 children in them.
Oscar Escamilla, acting executive officer of the U.S. Border Patrol in the Rio Grande Valley, said 250 to 300 kids enter daily and far fewer leave.
The youngest children — among them, 3-year-old girl being cared for by her 11-year-old brother and a newborn with a 17-year-old mother — are kept out of the pods and sleep in a playpen area.
On Tuesday, journalists watched children being processed. They went into a small room for lice inspection and a health check. Their hair was hosed down and towels were tossed in a black bin marked “Lice.” The kids — many of whom have made long journeys to get to the border, including stretches on foot — were also checked for scabies, fever and other ailments. No COVID-19 test was administered unless a child showed symptoms.
Nurse practitioners also gave psychological tests, asking children if they had suicidal thoughts. All shoelaces were removed to avoid harm to anyone.
The children were then led down a green turf hall to a large intake room. Those 14 and older are fingerprinted and have their photo taken; younger children did not.
They went to a second intake room where they got notices to appear for immigration court. Border Patrol agents asked them if they had a contact in the U.S. and allowed the child to call that person.
ADVERTISEMENT
Children were given bracelets with a barcode that shows a history of when they showered and medical conditions.
Outside the facility, the roar of construction equipment could be heard along with air conditioning units.
The Biden administration has continued expelling adults who try to cross the border under a coronavirus-related public health declaration enacted by former President Donald Trump. Biden also has tried to expel most families traveling together, but changes in Mexican law have forced agents to release many parents and children into the U.S.
Biden has declined to resume the Trump-era practice of expelling unaccompanied immigrant children. Several hundred kids and teenagers are crossing the border daily, most fleeing violence, poverty or the effects of natural disasters in Central America. In some cases, parents refused entry into the U.S. have sent their children across the border alone, hoping they will be placed with relatives eventually.
The Border Patrol is apprehending far more children daily than Health and Human Services is placing with U.S. sponsors, leading to a severe backlog in the system. The Border Patrol generally is not supposed to detain children for more than three days, but Health and Human Services lacks space.
More than 2,000 kids have been at the Donna facility for more than 72 hours, including 39 for more than 15 days.
HHS is housing children at convention centers in Dallas and San Diego and is opening large-scale sites in San Antonio, El Paso and elsewhere.
Biden has been sharply criticized by Republicans seeking to defend Trump’s immigration record, which includes the separation of thousands of immigrant families under a “zero tolerance” policy.
[unable to retrieve full-text content]
Bill would remove many restrictions on fireworks sold in Nebraska fox42kptm.com
Photo courtesy of Pexels
Gov. John Bel Edwards intends to keep Louisiana’s face covering requirement firmly in place even as several states have shed their mask mandates.
Posted: Mar 30, 2021 2:56 PM
Posted By: Akemi Briggs
The Biden administration for the first time Tuesday allowed journalists inside its main border detention facility for migrant children, revealing a severely overcrowded tent structure where more than 4,000 people, including children and families, were crammed into a space intended for 250 and the youngest were kept in a large play pen with mats on the floor for sleeping.
With thousands of children and families arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border in recent weeks and packing facilities, President Joe Biden has been under pressure to bring more transparency to the process. U.S. Customs and Border Protection allowed two journalists from The Associated Press and a crew from CBS to tour the facility in Donna, Texas, in the Rio Grande Valley, the nation's busiest corridor for illegal crossings.
More than 4,100 people were being housed on the property Tuesday. Most were unaccompanied children processed in tents before being taken to facilities run by the Department of Health and Human Services and then placed with a family member, relative or sponsor.
The children were being housed by the hundreds in eight "pods" formed by plastic dividers, each about 3,200 square feet in size. Many of the pods had more than 500 children in them.
Oscar Escamilla, acting executive officer of the U.S. Border Patrol in the Rio Grande Valley, said 250 to 300 kids enter daily and far fewer leave.
The youngest children -- among them, 3-year-old girl being cared for by her 11-year-old brother and a newborn with a 17-year-old mother -- are kept out of the pods and sleep in a playpen area.
On Tuesday, journalists watched children being processed. They went into a small room for lice inspection and a health check. Their hair was hosed down and towels were tossed in a black bin marked "Lice." The kids -- many of whom have made long journeys to get to the border, including stretches on foot -- were also checked for scabies, fever and other ailments. No COVID-19 test was administered unless a child showed symptoms.
Nurse practitioners also gave psychological tests, asking children if they had suicidal thoughts. All shoelaces were removed to avoid harm to anyone.
The children were then led down a green turf hall to a large intake room. Those 14 and older are fingerprinted and have their photo taken; younger children did not.
They went to a second intake room where they got notices to appear for immigration court. Border Patrol agents asked them if they had a contact in the U.S. and allowed the child to call that person.
Children were given bracelets with a barcode that shows a history of when they showered and medical conditions.
Outside the facility, the roar of construction equipment could be heard along with air conditioning units.
The Biden administration has continued expelling adults who try to cross the border under a coronavirus-related public health declaration enacted by former President Donald Trump. Biden also has tried to expel most families traveling together, but changes in Mexican law have forced agents to release many parents and children into the U.S.
Biden has declined to resume the Trump-era practice of expelling unaccompanied immigrant children. Several hundred kids and teenagers are crossing the border daily, most fleeing violence, poverty or the effects of natural disasters in Central America. In some cases, parents refused entry into the U.S. have sent their children across the border alone, hoping they will be placed with relatives eventually.
The Border Patrol is apprehending far more children daily than Health and Human Services is placing with U.S. sponsors, leading to a severe backlog in the system. The Border Patrol generally is not supposed to detain children for more than three days, but Health and Human Services lacks space.
More than 2,000 kids have been at the Donna facility for more than 72 hours, including 39 for more than 15 days.
HHS is housing children at convention centers in Dallas and San Diego and is opening large-scale sites in San Antonio, El Paso and elsewhere.
Biden has been sharply criticized by Republicans seeking to defend Trump's immigration record, which includes the separation of thousands of immigrant families under a "zero tolerance" policy.
Six people were killed and 12 total people were hospitalized following the Jan. 28 liquid nitrogen leak.
Hall County Fire Services was also called out March 11 regarding a “potential leak” due to a refrigerant service call that day, authorities said.
Foundation Food Group said at the time that a professional refrigeration company performed a review March 11 and found “no actionable levels of ammonia … and the plant was cleared of any potential risk to the company’s employees.”
OSHA spokesman Eric Lucero said the regulatory agency has received the complaint and will handle it in accordance with OSHA policy, directing The Times to a webpage concerning complaint processing.
Georgia Familias Unidas said it was requesting OSHA use its statutory authority to enforce “fundamental and federally required safety and health procedures and protocols be carried out” and provide documentation of their completion.
These procedures include providing for more than one unlocked emergency exit door with access to all workers, installing and/or correcting alarm systems regarding the release of chemicals and making certain action plans and training available in a language comprehensible for the workers.
“We are not advocating for the facility to shut down to take these measures,” according to a statement from Georgia Familias Unidas. “We know that these workers depend on the income they receive for their hard work, often working up to 45 hours a week.”
The company referenced its Feb. 11 fire inspection, where the Hall County fire marshal’s office said it passed all requirements. This was after a Feb. 1 inspection that found exit doors blocked by machinery and products as well as emergency lights needing repair.
“The safety of (Foundation Food Group’s) associates remains a top priority, which includes maintaining safety programs and protocols and training associates in their native languages,” the company said in a statement. “(Foundation Food Group) has and continues to provide necessary (personal protective equipment) to associates at no cost. As always, Foundation Food Group takes workplace safety very seriously. We are committed to taking any additional measures necessary to further ensure the safety of our employees.”
According to the OSHA policy, the area director or designee “will evaluate all available information to determine whether there are reasonable grounds to believe that a violation or hazard exists.”
If the area director determines that there are no “reasonable grounds” to support the existence of a hazard or violation, then there will not be an inspection or inquiry.
According to OSHA, the conditions for an imminent danger include a threat of death or serious physical harm that could occur within a short time.
“If an OSHA inspector believes that an imminent danger exists, the inspector must inform affected employees and the employer that he is recommending that OSHA take steps to stop the imminent danger,” according to OSHA. “OSHA has the right to ask a federal court to order the employer to eliminate the imminent danger.
MINNEAPOLIS (CBS Minnesota) — Many in the Black community are watching the trial of Derek Chauvin and realizing how triggering re-visiting the events of last year can be.
Many who chose to watch the trial of Derek Chauvin are uncovering old feelings, feelings they have not felt since last May, when they watched video of George Floyd begging for his life.
READ MORE: State’s Witnesses Include 911 Dispatcher, Gas Station Employee Who Took Cell Phone VideoWhile the trial gets underway so does the effort to meet people where they are to help them process their hurt. Dozens of people calling for justice for Floyd gathered out front of city hall Monday morning.
“We want to meet everybody where they are at while keeping everything civil,” said Kim Griffin.
Crews from A Mother’s Love Initiative are also downtown offering support to those who need help in processing their feelings.
All over social media, people are crying out. It’s triggering, re-traumatizing. They are angry, frustrated, some even sad after watching the video of Floyd’s arrest.
Lewis says emotions are high in his community.
“A lot of people don’t want to see it. They don’t want to relive it. They don’t want to see it again because it brings back those old emotions,” said Manu Lewis. “People need spaces to process what’s going on with them because a lot of people are isolated right now.”
READ MORE: What To Expect From Opening Statements In The Derek Chauvin TrialShiloh Temple is one of the places where people can go to process their feelings while watching the trial.
Minister Arnetta Phillips says people are taking advantage of the space, the facilitators and counselors on hand.
“It’s the tension and it’s the not knowing. It’s the not understanding of what’s really going to happen during the trail,” Phillips said.
One lady walked in and just needed to be with others.
“She was watching it at home and she was like, ‘I just had to walk, and I just had to walk,’ and she said, ‘I just ended up here.’ It just hurts, and I don’t care what color. It’s not about a skin color, it’s that it was a human being and he wasn’t treated as a human being,” she said.
That hurt is what many are trying to soothe.
“We have control over how we respond from this point on, how we react and how we relate to each other from this point on, how we actually see the humanity in each other from this point on,” Lewis said.
Many people CBS Minnesota spoke with say they need the energy of the protestors downtown — not the destructive energy, but productive energy to move the community forward no matter what the verdict ends up being.
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Port Wentworth Police: Missing woman believed to be in danger WSAV-TV
The NFL hasn't seen the league schedule expand since the 16-game schedule was implemented in 1978, which is about to change 43 years later. Starting in 2021, the NFL will implement a 17-game schedule for the first time -- one that will change the game and the league's record books.
Adding an extra game will put some hallowed NFL records in jeopardy, especially in a passing league where records are in danger of being surpassed every year. The league didn't experience record-breaking stats immediately when the schedule expanded from 14 games to 16 games, but some significant records were broken over the next decade that change the face of the NFL forever.
The 17-game schedule should have a similar impact, with several single-season records in danger as a result. Here are five significant NFL records in peril with the 17-game schedule in place:
Current record: Peyton Manning -- 5,477 (2013)
NFL quarterbacks have rewritten the record rooks over the past decade in the passing yards category. Twelve times quarterbacks have thrown for over 5,000 yards in a season, with 10 occurrences happening over the past 10 years. Manning set the mark in 2013, surpassing Brees throwing for 5,476 yards in 2011 -- a year in which three quarterbacks threw for 5,000 yards.
Manning's record will be challenged in a 17-game season, giving a prolific passer another 300 yards to surpass him. Patrick Mahomes averaged 316 passing yards per game in 2020, which equates to 5,372 yards in a 17-game season -- just short of Manning's record.
To pass Manning, quarterbacks have to average 322 passing yards per game -- which has been accomplished eight times in NFL history. In a league where passing numbers continue to rise, Manning's record will be in jeopardy over the next several years.
Current record: Eric Dickerson -- 2,105 (1984)
Much like passing yards, the single-season rushing yards record is in jeopardy -- and has been over the last decade. Despite the NFL bell cow running back going by the wayside, Adrian Peterson and Derrick Henry have challenged Henry's mark for most rushing yards in a season. Peterson rushed for 2,097 yards in 2012 -- his MVP season -- and Henry recorded 2,027 rushing yards in 2020. A 17th game would have put Peterson past Dickerson and Henry would have challenged the mark.
Peterson averaged 131.1 rushing yards per game in 2012, which would have given him 2,228 yards that year (17-game season). Henry averaged 126.7 rushing yards per game last season, which would have given him 2,153 yards in a 17-game season.
If Henry is in his prime, Dickerson's record will be challenged.
Current record: Michael Thomas -- 149 (2019)
Chalk this mark up as one that is the most likely to be passed with the league concentrating on a short passing game and wide receivers putting up reception numbers left and right. Thomas broke Marvin Harrison's record of 143 catches that stood for 17 years in 2019 -- but his record will be challenged right away.
Seven times receivers have caught 125 passes in a season -- six times since 2014 (Thomas and Antonio Brown have done it twice). The NFL reception mark has been challenged over the past five years, with Thomas finally surpassing Harrison's feat.
A receiver will need to average 8.76 catches in a 17-game season to pass Thomas (he may be the one to break his own record), and there may be a few players in striking distance of the mark in Week 18. Don't be shocked to see a lot of targets their way in the final weeks of the year.
Current record: Calvin Johnson -- 1,964 (2012)
Johnson's receiving yards record may be the most impressive on this list, considering he's the only player to record 1,900 yards in a season. This record would have been nearly impossible to top in a 16-game season, but adding that 17th game makes it breakable.
Julio Jones had 1,871 yards in 2015, averaging 116.9 yards per game. Keeping up that average in a 17th game would give Jones 1,987 yards that year -- surpassing Johnson's mark. Antonio Brown finished with 1,834 yards in that same season (114.6 yards per game) and would have fallen 16 yards shy of Johnson on that pace. However, this isn't factoring in a potential big game since Brown would have been in striking distance heading into Week 18.
Thomas finished with 1,725 yards in 2019 and Brown had 1,698 yards in 2014. Both would have been long shots with a 17th game, but a receiver still would have a chance to pass Johnson. Reaching Johnson's record is difficult, but more wideouts will have an opportunity with an extra game added to the schedule.
Current record: Michael Strahan -- 22.5 (2001)
Strahan's sacks record has been challenged on multiple occasions since he set the mark, although no player has been able to get that half a sack to match him. Jared Allen had 22 sacks in 2011 and Justin Houston also reached 22 in 2014. An extra game would have given them a great opportunity to pass Strahan and dethrone him of his record.
Aaron Donald finished with 20.5 sacks in 2018, so a 17th game would have put him in an excellent position to match Strahan. Ditto for J.J. Watt in 2012 and 2014 (20.5 sacks) and Shaquil Barrett in 2019 (19.5). All these players have the potential for multi-sack games, which would put Strahan's mark on notice in Week 18.
The sack record may not be broken immediately, but it will be challenged over the next few years.
The National Weather Service red flag warning issued Monday may lead to more fire warnings for the region, according to Alex Edwards, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Bismarck.
"The warm and dry pattern continues," he said, looking ahead in the Jamestown area forecast. "It is hard to see any change from those trends in the foreseeable future."
Looking back, Jamestown has received 1.71 inches of moisture since Oct. 1, according to measurements taken at the North Dakota State Hospital, Edwards said. That compares to a normal of 4.54 inches of moisture. This past winter has been the driest since the winter of 1962 to 1963 when there were 1.33 inches of moisture.
Jerry Bergquist, Stutsman County emergency manager and 911 coordinator, said Monday's weather prompted a red flag warning and a very high fire danger rating.
"On top of that we had a high wind warning," he said. "... a fire with that kind of dryness and wind would be impossible to control."
The Stutsman County open burning ordinance prohibits open fires whenever the National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning or the North Dakota Wildfire Assessment System places Stutsman County in the very high or extreme fire danger ratings.
The ordinance prohibits burning within Stutsman County. This includes starting, conducting, allowing, maintaining or soliciting any open burn activities. Violations of the open burning ordinance will be enforced. A violation is a Class B misdemeanor, for which a maximum penalty of 30 days in jail anda fine of $1,500.
The ordinance is enforced in all of Stutsman County except Jamestown which has its own fire ordinance.
Jim Reuther, Jamestown fire chief, said the department is prepared for the dry and windy conditions.
"With the winds coming up we could have a huge problem if we have a fire," he said. "If we had a call, we'd have to protect the surrounding structures."
Reuther said the Jamestown Fire Department had not responded to any grass fires this spring, although vegetation in town is dry. The department had prepared the tools used to fight grass fires in case it is called to provide aid to any of the area's rural fire departments.
Bergquist reported rural fire departments in Stutsman County had responded to seven grass fires from March 1-28. The Jamestown Rural Fire Department responded to three grass fires during the week of March 22.
Information on the fire danger in Stutsman County is updated daily and included at the top of the county's website www.co.stutsman.nd.us.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson gives an update on the coronavirus pandemic during a virtual news conference Monday in London. Johnson and other world leaders signed a letter calling for greater international cooperation in fighting future pandemics. Hollie Adams/WPA/Pool/Getty Images
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta are among about two dozen world leaders who have signed onto a letter calling for an international agreement to "dispel the temptations of isolationism and nationalism" as part of an effort to prepare for future pandemics.
However, given a lack of international coordination that has beset the current coronavirus pandemic and an ongoing tussle over vaccine deliveries to combat COVID-19, whether such a treaty could be reached or adhered to is an open question.
In the letter published Tuesday in newspapers around the world, the leaders — which include others in Europe, Africa and Asia and World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus — called COVID-19 the biggest global challenge since the 1940s. It said an international settlement similar to the one that ended World War II was needed to address the problem.
"[F]ollowing the devastation of two world wars, political leaders came together to forge the multilateral system," the leaders wrote in the letter that appeared in the U.K.'s The Telegraph, Le Monde in France and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in Germany, among others.
"The Covid-19 pandemic has been a stark and painful reminder that nobody is safe until everyone is safe," the leaders wrote. "We are, therefore, committed to ensuring universal and equitable access to safe, efficacious and affordable vaccines, medicines and diagnostics for this and future pandemics."
"Our solidarity in ensuring that the world is better prepared will be our legacy that protects our children and grandchildren and [minimizes] the impact of future pandemics on our economies and our societies," they said.
The United States, Russia and China did not sign the letter.
This development comes as much of Europe is struggling to get enough vaccines and as the European Union and a post-Brexit U.K. are locked in a dispute over vaccine deliveries.
Earlier this month, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said AstraZeneca, the British-based drugmaker supplying the EU, was at risk of breaching its obligations to European countries.
"That is the message to AstraZeneca," she told reporters. "You fulfill your contract with Europe before you start delivering to other countries.'"
Last week, the U.K.'s Johnson warned his EU counterparts that a vaccine trade war between the EU and United Kingdom could cause "considerable" and "long-term" economic damage.
Also, Merkel backtracked last week on a plan to extend Germany's COVID-19 lockdown through the Easter holiday. The chancellor had warned that Germany was facing "a new pandemic" amid rising infection rates and new coronavirus variants. However, she later called the plan a "mistake" and personally took the blame for the decision, which she said did not take economic factors into full account.
In their letter, the leaders said a new treaty would establish systems for an early warning about potential pandemics and streamline the sharing of vital data and the distribution of vaccines and personal protective equipment – all seen as areas where the international community fell short in the early days of the spread of the coronavirus.
"There will be other pandemics and other major health emergencies. No single government or multilateral agency can address this threat alone. The question is not if, but when," the letter said.
MINNEAPOLIS (CBS Minnesota) — Many in the Black community are watching the trial of Derek Chauvin and realizing how triggering re-visiting the events of last year can be.
Many who chose to watch the trial of Derek Chauvin are uncovering old feelings, feelings they have not felt since last May, when they watched video of George Floyd begging for his life.
READ MORE: State’s Witnesses Include 911 Dispatcher, Gas Station Employee Who Took Cell Phone VideoWhile the trial gets underway so does the effort to meet people where they are to help them process their hurt. Dozens of people calling for justice for Floyd gathered out front of city hall Monday morning.
“We want to meet everybody where they are at while keeping everything civil,” said Kim Griffin.
Crews from A Mother’s Love Initiative are also downtown offering support to those who need help in processing their feelings.
All over social media, people are crying out. It’s triggering, re-traumatizing. They are angry, frustrated, some even sad after watching the video of Floyd’s arrest.
Lewis says emotions are high in his community.
“A lot of people don’t want to see it. They don’t want to relive it. They don’t want to see it again because it brings back those old emotions,” said Manu Lewis. “People need spaces to process what’s going on with them because a lot of people are isolated right now.”
READ MORE: What To Expect From Opening Statements In The Derek Chauvin TrialShiloh Temple is one of the places where people can go to process their feelings while watching the trial.
Minister Arnetta Phillips says people are taking advantage of the space, the facilitators and counselors on hand.
“It’s the tension and it’s the not knowing. It’s the not understanding of what’s really going to happen during the trail,” Phillips said.
One lady walked in and just needed to be with others.
“She was watching it at home and she was like, ‘I just had to walk, and I just had to walk,’ and she said, ‘I just ended up here.’ It just hurts, and I don’t care what color. It’s not about a skin color, it’s that it was a human being and he wasn’t treated as a human being,” she said.
That hurt is what many are trying to soothe.
“We have control over how we respond from this point on, how we react and how we relate to each other from this point on, how we actually see the humanity in each other from this point on,” Lewis said.
Many people CBS Minnesota spoke with say they need the energy of the protestors downtown — not the destructive energy, but productive energy to move the community forward no matter what the verdict ends up being.
Americans outraged by the storming of Capitol Hill are in for a jarring reality check: Many of those who invaded the halls of Congress on Jan. 6 are likely to get little or no jail time.
While public and media attention in recent weeks has been focused on high-profile conspiracy cases against right-wing, paramilitary groups like the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys, the most urgent decisions for prosecutors involve resolving scores of lower-level cases that have clogged D.C.’s federal district court.
A POLITICO analysis of the Capitol riot-related cases shows that almost a quarter of the more than 230 defendants formally and publicly charged so far face only misdemeanors. Dozens of those arrested are awaiting formal charges, even as new cases are being unsealed nearly every day.
In recent days, judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys have all indicated that they expect few of these “MAGA tourists” to face harsh sentences.
There are two main reasons: Although prosecutors have loaded up their charging documents with language about the existential threat of the insurrection to the republic, the actions of many of the individual rioters often boiled down to trespassing. And judges have wrestled with how aggressively to lump those cases in with those of the more sinister suspects.
“My bet is a lot of these cases will get resolved and probably without prison time or jail time,” said Erica Hashimoto, a former federal public defender who is now a law professor at Georgetown. "One of the core values of this country is that we can protest if we disagree with our government. Of course, some protests involve criminal acts, but as long as the people who are trying to express their view do not engage in violence, misdemeanors may be more appropriate than felonies.”
The prospect of dozens of Jan. 6 rioters cutting deals for minor sentences could be hard to explain for the Biden administration, which has characterized the Capitol Hill mob as a uniquely dangerous threat. Before assuming office, Biden said the rioters’ attempt to overturn the election results by force “borders on sedition”; Attorney General Merrick Garland has called the prosecutions his top early priority, describing the storming of Congress as “a heinous attack that sought to disrupt a cornerstone of our democracy, the peaceful transfer of power to a newly elected government.”
Justice Department prosecutors sent expectations sky-high in early statements and court filings, describing elaborate plots to murder lawmakers — descriptions prosecutors have tempered as new details emerged.
The resolution of the more mundane cases also presents acute questions about equity, since most of the Capitol riot defendants are white, while misdemeanor charges are often a vexing problem for minority defendants in other cases.
There are also sensitive issues about precedent for the future, given the frequency of politically inspired demonstrations on Capitol Hill that run afoul of the law.
While violent assaults in the Capitol are rare, protests and acts of civil disobedience — such as disrupting congressional hearings or even House and Senate floor sessions, are more common. That means prosecutors and judges will have to weigh how much more punishment a Trump supporter who invaded the Capitol during the Electoral College count deserves than, say, an anti-war protester chanting at a CIA confirmation hearing or a gun-control advocate shouting in the middle of the State of the Union address.
Judges are also attempting to reckon with separating the individual actions of rioters from the collective threat of the mob, which they have noted helped inspire and provide cover for violent assaults, property destruction and increased the overall terror and danger of the assorted crimes committed.
That reckoning is coming sooner rather than later, lawyers say, putting prosecutors in the position of wrist-slapping many participants in the riot despite framing the crimes as part of an insurrection that presented a grave threat to American democracy.
Prosecutors have signaled that plea offers for some defendants will be coming within days and have readily acknowledged that some of the cases are less complicated to resolve than others.
“I think we can work out a non-trial disposition in this case,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Emory Cole told Judge Dabney Friedrich last week in the case of Kevin Loftus, who was charged with unlawful presence and disrupting official business at the Capitol, among other offenses that have become the boilerplate set lodged against anyone who walked into the building that day without authorization.
The Justice Department will soon be in the awkward position of having to defend such deals, even as trials and lengthy sentences for those facing more serious charges could be a year or more away.
Adding to the political awkwardness: The expected wave of plea offers comes as former President Donald Trump seems intent on falsely rewriting the history of the Jan. 6 assault. In an interview with Laura Ingraham on Fox News Thursday night, Trump suggested that prosecutors and the FBI are making too much of the Capitol takeover, which left five people dead and dozens of police officers injured.
“It was zero threat. Right from the start, it was zero threat,” Trump declared. “Look, they went in — they shouldn’t have done it — some of them went in, and they’re hugging and kissing the police and the guards, you know? They had great relationships. A lot of the people were waved in, and then they walked in, and they walked out.”
Many of the rioters charged with the most serious offenses that day have cited Trump’s own words as the inspiration they took for storming the Capitol. The House also impeached Trump for inciting the insurrection in January, before the Senate acquitted him despite a 57-vote majority in favor of conviction.
And prosecutors are facing pressure from judges to either back up their tough talk about sedition or put a lid on it. Michael Sherwin, the former lead Jan. 6 prosecutor, found himself rebuked by other senior prosecutors and Judge Amit Mehta last week for publicly flirting with the possibility of sedition charges when none had actually been leveled.
Former federal prosecutor Paul Butler said he hopes that those most troubled by the Capitol riot won’t recoil at the looming deals for many participants.
“The punishment has to be proportional to the harm, but I think for many of us, we’ll never forget watching TV Jan. 6 and seeing people wilding out in the Capitol,” said Butler, now a law professor at Georgetown. “Everybody who was there was complicit, but they’re not all complicit to the same degree for the same harm.”
A standard set of four misdemeanor charges prosecutors have been filed in dozens of the Capitol cases carries a maximum possible punishment of three years in prison. But that sentence or anything close to it is virtually unheard of in misdemeanor cases, lawyers said.
“Nobody goes to jail for a first or second misdemeanor,” Butler said flatly.
One defense lawyer working on Capitol cases also said what many in the court system are referring to as “MAGA tourists” are almost certain to escape prison time.
“What about somebody who has no criminal record who got jazzed up by the president, walked in, spends 15 minutes in Statuary Hall and leaves? What happens to that person? They’re not going to get a jail sentence for that,” said the defense attorney, who asked not to be named.
“There is a natural cycle to an event like this,” the lawyer added. “People will say it was the end of the world, then things will calm down, and they’ll begin looking at cases back on what people actually did.”
Nearly every day, federal judges are also prodding prosecutors to offer plea deals to defendants facing lower-level charges.
During a hearing Friday for Leo Brent “Zeeker” Bozell IV, son of prominent conservative activist Brent Bozell, U.S. District Court Judge John Bates told a prosecutor to “move expeditiously” to get the case resolved or headed to trial.
The younger Bozell faces a mixture of felony and misdemeanor charges for allegedly forcing his way into the Capitol and, eventually, onto the Senate floor. He pleaded not guilty to all charges Friday.
“These cases are going to move forward,” said Bates, an appointee of President George W. Bush. “The government needs to produce discovery. It needs to come up with a plea policy and implement that policy in particular cases.”
Lower-level Capitol riot defendants scored a significant victory Friday when a federal appeals court said judges need to sort out the most serious, violent offenders from those who simply walked in amidst the chaos.
“Two individuals who did not engage in any violence and who were not involved in planning or coordinating the activities — seemingly would have posed little threat,” D.C. Circuit Judge Robert Wilkins wrote.
Within hours of the ruling, judges and defense lawyers were repeatedly citing it as clarifying who should and should not be detained, while prosecutors were trying to argue that some defendants were more dangerous than the mother-and-son team who won the favorable decision Friday.
The appeals court ruling came amid increasing signs of judges’ impatience: at least five Jan. 6 defendants were released in recent days over prosecutors’ objections.
“The judges are going to start to have had enough of this. At a certain point, they’re going to start making them do deals in these cases,” the defense attorney said.
Some of those tensions over the pace of the hundreds of cases were evident at a hearing last week for Eduardo Nicolas Alvear Gonzalez, 32, known for his prolific pot use on social media during the Capitol riot. He was arrested in southern Virginia on Feb. 9 and a magistrate judge there ordered him detained due to his efforts to evade police. It took marshals more than a month to move Alvear Gonzales to Washington.
At last week’s hearing, a federal judge in Washington freed Alvear Gonzalez into the custody of a friend in California. U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg said he was concerned that Alvear Gonzalez had already spent as much, and perhaps more, time in jail as he was likely to get for his actions on Jan. 6.
“He’s done pretty close to two months on misdemeanors,” said Boasberg, an appointee of President Barack Obama. The judge went on to say he expected plea deals in similar cases would involve “no-jail allocutions or 30-days allocutions,” meaning the sentences prosecutors would agree to propose to judges if the defendant pleaded guilty.
While most of the defendants facing only misdemeanor charges are not in jail, Assistant U.S. Attorney Troy Edwards said prosecutors understand the urgency to get the more minor cases resolved.
“I’m very aware of that,” Edwards said. “That is a prime consideration.”
Prosecutors have sought to delay all the cases on the ground that tens of thousands of hours of social media, surveillance and body-worn camera video the FBI has assembled from the Capitol riot needs to be posted on a platform where defense lawyers in all the cases can have access to it. But defense lawyers for many so-called MAGA tourists say the attorneys don’t want to see the full collection, that it is too much for them to watch in any event and that the lower-level cases should not be put off for months over that issue.
On Monday, Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui said the prosecution needs to pick up the pace.
“Let’s get it going,” Faruqui said during back-to-back hearings on Capitol cases. “There is, continues to percolate here in the courthouse, concerns about things moving.”
In virtually all the non-felony cases, the charges are likely to be grouped together as trespassing under federal sentencing guidelines. While those guidelines contain a small enhancement for entering a “restricted” building or grounds, defendants with no significant criminal history are looking at the lowest possible range: zero to six months. “Zero” months means no jail at all.
“Trespass is as mild as we get….There’s really no way in which you can cook the books, or the guidelines, to do above zero to six,” said Ohio State University law professor Douglas Berman, a leading authority on criminal sentencing. “This is a case where the aggravating factors are not built into the book.”
Prosecutors could ask judges to sentence lower-level defendants to more than six months, but that could disrupt efforts to get guilty pleas and could irritate judges handling more serious Capitol cases.
In theory, some defendants might be eligible for “pretrial diversion,” which could allow them to escape a criminal conviction altogether by completing a term of probation. However, Justice Department policies say such arrangements should not be used in cases “related to national security.” With officials touting the involvement of Justice’s National Security Division in the investigation, that option seems unlikely.
“They’re going to have political pressure not to agree to probation,” Berman said.
Some defendants appear to have had a felony obstruction-of-Congress charge added to their misdemeanor charges due to social media comments or videos from the Capitol that allegedly show intent to disrupt the electoral count.
That means a defendant who shouted “Stop the steal” in the Capitol or posted QAnon speculation about the Insurrection Act on social media may face far more serious charges than one who did the exact same thing on Jan. 6, but has no public record of such statements. The obstruction charge, which is essentially the same as obstruction of justice in a court case, carries a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison.
“If they’re basically saying what they heard the president say a half and hour earlier, it raises a question about how the First Amendment is going to apply in all these cases,” one defense lawyer said.
Another factor prosecutors and judges may weigh is that the treatment of misdemeanors by the justice system is currently the subject of intense attention in criminal justice reform circles. Reformers say such minor charges often cause major complications in the lives of the minority defendants who typically face them.
“A lot of Black or brown people, they don’t get the benefit of individual judgment or breaks,” said Butler. “I think this will be a record number of white people who appear in federal criminal court in D.C….If they’re receiving mercy, the prosecutor’s office should make sure that same mercy will be applied to all the other people who they prosecute, who are mainly people of color and low-income people.”
The former prosecutor said he hopes the high-profile Capitol prosecutions call attention to the underlying equity issues and to the fact that the vast majority of federal cases are resolved not through trials but the plea negotiations that are about to begin.
“This could be a teachable moment here for the public,” Butler said.
Hashimoto said she recognizes light sentences may be unsatisfying to those outraged by the events on Jan. 6, but jailing the lower-level offenders really won’t help. “I don’t think that will heal any of the hurt and trauma this country has felt,” she said. “They should be focusing on the people who are most culpable.”
