The temperature in a Russian town located within the Arctic circle reached 100 degrees Fahrenheit on Sunday, the hottest temperature on record for the area.

Verkhoyansk, a town in the region of Siberia known for experiencing wide ranges in temperatures throughout the year, reported a temperature reading of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit, or 38 degrees Celsius, the Associated Press reported. The previous record was 98.96 degrees Fahrenheit, while temperatures of -90 degrees Fahrenheit have also been reported in the area.

The record high temperatures are thought to be contributing to dangerous wildfires in the region, the AP reported, and are part of a six-month heat wave affecting the region. Some of the wildfires are reportedly so-called “zombie” fires, in which decayed organic matter burns underground causing smoke to rise to the surface. 

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“We might actually be missing some of the fire activity which is burning in peat, that could even be burning underground, so it may not be detectable by satellites,” said Dr. Mark Parrington, a scientist with the European Union’s Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service (CAMS) in an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC).

“In the really far northern latitudes this is quite a surprise,” he added.

“Events that were once thought to be relatively rare have been observed to be happening a lot more frequently in places of the world where it wasn’t thought that these kinds of events could take place,” Parrington said.

More than 680,000 acres are thought to be burning in one area affected by the wildfires, according to a Russian monitoring agency.

 

Happy Thursday and welcome to Overnight Defense. I’m Ellen Mitchell, and here’s your nightly guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond. CLICK HERE to subscribe to the newsletter.

 

THE TOPLINE: A pair of top Democrats has introduced a bill aimed at blocking President Trump’s plan to withdraw thousands of U.S. troops from Germany.

The bill, introduced by Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and House Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) in their respective chambers, would prohibit funding to implement a withdrawal in Europe unless several conditions are met.

“The current U.S. troop presence in Germany is in the U.S. national security interest. Full stop,” Menendez said in a statement. “The administration has made no effort to explain how our country is stronger because of this drawdown decision. Because we’re not. This drawdown weakens America and Europe. And Vladimir Putin understands and appreciates that better than anyone.”

Trump’s threat: Trump confirmed Monday that he plans to slash the number of U.S. troops in Germany, which is home to the U.S. military’s European and Africa command headquarters.

Trump, faulting Germany for not meeting NATO’s defense spending goal, said he would cut the number of troops to 25,000. There are about 35,000 troops there now, and the number can go as high as 52,000.

In 2014, NATO countries agreed to each spend 2 percent of their gross domestic products on their defense budgets by 2024. Just eight countries are at the 2 percent mark right now. Several others have plans to meet it by the deadline, but Germany is not on track to meet the goal.

What the bill would do: Menendez and Engel’s bill would prohibit funding to withdraw troops from or close a base in Europe unless a host government submits a written request for a reduction or the president submits a formal declaration of his intent to withdraw to Congress that includes a justification for doing so.

The president’s notice would have to come 180 days before a drawdown happens and would need to be followed by public testimony from the secretaries of Defense and State. Congress would also have to pass a resolution endorsing the withdrawal for it to proceed.

The bill would also require a report that covers the process leading to the decision to draw down in Germany, a description of communication with Germany and other NATO allies and the national security implications of a withdrawal.

NATO sounds alarm: NATO allies raised concerns about a U.S. withdrawal from Germany at a meeting of defense minister Wednesday. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters that Defense Secretary Mark Esper pledged that “the U.S. will consult with NATO allies on the way forward.”

Other pushback in Congress: In Congress, Trump’s plan has received a bipartisan backlash since it was first reported earlier this month. Last week, 22 Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee wrote Trump a letter urging him to reverse course.

 

No orders yet: The top U.S. Air Force general in Europe said Thursday he has not received orders from the White House to begin pulling airmen from Germany.

“I have not received any specific guidance directing me to do any specific planning on that at this particular point,” U.S. Air Forces in Europe head Gen. Jeffrey Harrigian told reporters during a media call.

Harrigian, who is also the commander for the U.S. Air Forces Africa, referred all questions on the topic to the White House.

 

ESPER ANNOUNCES INTERNAL REVIEW ON DIVERSITY IN MILITARY: The Pentagon is conducting an internal review on diversity and inclusion in the military amid nationwide protests over racial injustice, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Thursday.

In a video message to the department posted online, Esper said he was establishing a “Defense Board on Diversity and Inclusion in the Military” that will conduct a six-month study to “develop concrete, actionable recommendations to increase racial diversity and ensure equal opportunity across all ranks, and especially in the officer corps.”

Esper said everyone in the department should “reflect upon the issues of race, bias and inequality in our ranks, and have the tough, candid discussions with your superiors, your peers and your troops that this issue demands.”

 

Additional efforts: In addition, Esper said he has ordered civilian and uniformed leadership at the Pentagon to bring him recommendations in two weeks that can be implemented immediately.

He also said he will set up a “Defense Advisory Committee on Diversity and Inclusion in the Armed Services” that will continue the work of the board he established when it is done with its initial six-month study.

“My goal is to effect an enterprisewide, organizational and cultural shift,” Esper said. “The actions I have identified today are just the first steps, but there is more to be done. Over the next few months, I will be working across the department to identify additional ways to foster lasting change, from recruiting, career track selection and retention; to assignments, schools and promotions; to military justice and everything in between and beyond.”

Context: The military has been grappling with racial issues amid nationwide protests sparked by the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, as well as after criticism of the Pentagon’s involvement in President Trump’s response to the protests.

Esper was criticized for calling the protests a “battle space,” a choice of words he later said he regretted. Esper and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley were also criticized for accompanying Trump on a photo-op to a church after federal law enforcement forcefully cleared largely peaceful protesters from the area. Milley later apologized for participating in the photo-op.

Several military leaders have spoken out about racial inequality in the military in recent weeks and have taken some steps to address the issue. The Air Force, for example, announced an inspector general investigation into racial disparities in its justice system.

The nationwide protests have also reignited debates about Confederate symbols and names on military property. The Marine Corps formalized a ban on the Confederate battle flag, and the Navy has said it would follow suit. U.S. Forces Korea also announced a ban on the flag.

The Army said it was open to renaming its bases named after Confederate leaders, but Trump shot down the idea days later. The Senate’s version of the annual defense policy bill, though, would require the Pentagon to rename property that is named after Confederates such as the Army bases.

 

ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER RESIGNATION: A top Pentagon policy official is resigning days after the White House rescinded its plans to nominate her for the Defense Department’s No. 2 civilian intelligence post, Defense Secretary Mark Esper confirmed on Thursday.

Kathryn Wheelbarger, the acting assistant Defense secretary for international security affairs, submitted her resignation on Wednesday, five days after President Trump pulled her name as the intended nominee to be deputy under secretary of Defense for intelligence. 

“In her role as Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Katie brought a wealth of experience and the utmost professionalism to the Department throughout her service,” Esper said in a statement Thursday.

“Her leadership in support of the National Defense Strategy is evident in the proud accomplishments of her team. She is someone I got to know well over the last three years and, with sincere appreciation for her many contributions and years of service, I wish Katie the very best in what I’m sure will be a very bright future.”

More on Wheelbarger: Trump on Feb. 13 named Wheelbarger as his intended nominee for the senior intelligence position but last week announced plans to instead nominate Bradley Hansell, a previous special assistant to the president. The White House sent Hansell’s nomination to the Senate on Thursday.

In her resignation letter, Wheelbarger said that she trusted her colleagues to “continue to be guided by the U.S. Constitution and the principles of our founding, which ensure both our security and our freedom,” according to Reuters.

The White House is now being accused of overlooking Wheelbarger — who was well regarded by both Republican and Democrat lawmakers — due to her past work with the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). Wheelbarger worked as a Senate Armed Services Committee policy director alongside McCain, the panel’s former chairman and a staunch critic of Trump’s.

A pattern: Wheelbarger is the second Pentagon official to resign this week after having her name pulled from the running for a top Defense Department job over reported loyalty concerns to Trump.

Elaine McCusker, the Pentagon’s acting comptroller who questioned the Trump administration for its withholding of aid to Ukraine last year, submitted her resignation earlier this week after the White House in early March pulled her nomination for the official comptroller role.

 

ICYMI

— The Hill: Russian fighter jet flights in Libya raise concern

— The Hill: Bolton book shows nastiness rules at Trump White House

— The Hill: Bolton alleges Trump said it’d be ‘cool’ to invade Venezuela

— The Hill: Bolton: Putin thinks ‘he can play’ Trump like a ‘fiddle’

— The Hill: Bipartisan Senate group offers bill to strengthen watchdog law after Trump firings

— The Hill: Opinion: Renaming bases: What to do when the military wants social change, but the president doesn’t

— Reuters: Discord thwarts U.N. nuclear watchdog’s plans for virtual Iran meeting

— Military Times: Despite steady rise in coronavirus cases, VA officials push ahead with return to normal operations

 

A new study has found that pregnant women exposed to air pollution and high temperatures are more likely to give birth to preterm, stillborn or underweight children.

The review, published in JAMA Network Open, examined more than 32 million births and found an association between climate change effects such as heat, ozone and fine particulate matter, and adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Researchers also found that minority women, particularly black mothers, were impacted the most.

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The study, published Thursday, comes amid nationwide protests over the killings of black men at the hands of police, and mounting tensions over systemic racial disparities. It also adds to the growing body of evidence that as global temperatures rise and pollution spreads, minority communities are disproportionately impacted.

Ten of the studies included in the review found an increased risk of preterm birth among mothers in minority groups. Eight of the studies noted higher risk for black mothers.

Nathaniel DeNicola, who was involved with the review of 68 studies and 32.8 million births, said that while much of the current media coverage is focusing on black men and police brutality, this study highlights the systemic disparities for black women, too.

“Black moms matter,” he said.

The studies included in the review support a link between air pollution and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Nineteen of the 24 studies looking at air pollution found a connection between air pollutants and preterm birth rates, 25 out of 29 studies found a link to low birth weight, and four of the five studies found increased stillbirths as associated with pollution.

DeNicola, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at George Washington University’s School of Medicine and Health Science, said preterm birth can impact a child’s brain development and cognitive capacity, as well as their immune system.

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Some of the studies examined disproportionate preterm birth, stillbirth or underweight birth rates depending on ZIP codes. DeNicola explained that women in poorer ZIP codes tend to be more exposed to pollution and heat, due to, among other factors, proximity to highways and lack of air conditioning due to income.

DeNicola said that while many don’t first think of health when they think of climate change, pollution and temperature changes will likely impact health before it impacts sea level.

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“Pregnancy health sets the stage for an entire generation,” DeNicola said.

A separate study recently found that pregnant women exposed to extreme heat are more likely to give birth to children with heart defects.

Apple’s App Store is coming under increasing antitrust scrutiny from lawmakers, regulators and competitors for its treatment of third-party developers.

Much of the focus is on the fees Apple charges developers and the tech giant’s ability to torpedo apps by denying access to its store following a very public dispute with a high-profile software developer.

That dispute caught the attention of Rep. David CicillineDavid Nicola CicillineApple’s developer dispute draws lawmaker scrutiny of App Store Ocasio-Cortez: Trump rally sabotaged by ‘teens on TikTok’ Trump mocked for low attendance at rally MORE (D-R.I.), one of the biggest antitrust hawks on Capitol Hill.

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“Because of the market power that Apple has, it is charging exorbitant rents — highway robbery, basically — bullying people to pay 30 percent or denying access to their market,” the chairman of the House Judiciary antitrust subcommittee said on a podcast from The Verge late last week.

“It’s crushing small developers who simply can’t survive with those kinds of payments. If there were real competition in this marketplace, this wouldn’t happen.”

His comments were in response to Apple’s rejection of an update to a $99-a-year email service from a company called Basecamp, which didn’t offer a way for users to sign up and pay through their app in the App Store. Apple charges a 30 percent fee for use of its payment tools.

Basecamp CTO David Heinemeier Hansson accused Apple of acting like “gangsters” for pressuring the email service Hey to add the in-app subscription feature, saying he would “burn this house down” before agreeing to the 30 percent fee.

Apple ultimately approved a new version of Hey on Monday, but the green light is only temporary. Hey will now offer iOS users a free 14-day account in order to appease Apple’s demand that customers be able to download the app and use it without having to sign up elsewhere first.

The battle sparked other reports from software developers detailing similar pressure to conform to Apple’s rules.

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Cicilline, who has been leading a House investigation into digital marketplace competition, said his committee intends to shine a light on developers who fear retaliation if they don’t follow Apple’s policies.

“Many people have come forward to share their experiences who are terrified of economic retaliation, who are afraid they can’t survive the economic retaliation that these large platforms can impose because of the power that they have, and we intend to pursue those allegations very seriously,” he said last week.

“This is a real problem in the marketplace,” Cicilline added. “This is a direct consequence of enormous market power, the fact that Apple is the gatekeeper for these developers, and we have heard many, many examples.”

Scrutiny of Apple’s App Store has come from abroad as well.

On the same day that Apple first rejected Hey’s update, Europe’s primary competition authority announced it had opened a formal probe into the App Store.

The European Commission’s investigation will focus on the mandatory use of Apple’s proprietary in-app purchasing system for distributing paid content, which requires the 30 percent commission fee, and restrictions on the ability of developers to tell users about purchasing options outside of the app.

The investigation was sparked by complaints from Spotify and a distributor of e-books and audiobooks, both of which raised concerns with Apple’s rules.

“It appears that Apple obtained a ‘gatekeeper’ role when it comes to the distribution of apps and content to users of Apple’s popular devices,” Margrethe Vestager, the commission’s vice president in charge of competition policy, said in a statement. “We need to ensure that Apple’s rules do not distort competition in markets where Apple is competing with other app developers, for example with its music streaming service Apple Music or with Apple Books.”

Microsoft President Brad Smith put more pressure on Apple, saying during an interview with Politico Live last week that app stores have made it too difficult for small developers to build products.

“I do believe the time has come, whether we’re talking about Washington, D.C., or Brussels, for a much more focused conversation about the nature of app stores, the rules that are being put in place, the prices and the tolls that are being extracted and whether there is really a justification in antitrust law for everything that has been created,” he said Thursday.

While he did not explicitly mention Apple, Bloomberg News later confirmed with Microsoft that his comments were about the App Store.

He also noted that Windows allows developers to distribute apps through multiple stores or directly to consumers.

Criticism of Apple’s App Store is expected to loom over the annual Worldwide Developer Conference, which is being held online.

Apple has defended its practices amid the backlash.

“It’s disappointing the European Commission is advancing baseless complaints from a handful of companies who simply want a free ride, and don’t want to play by the same rules as everyone else. We don’t think that’s right — we want to maintain a level playing field where anyone with determination and a great idea can succeed,” an Apple spokesperson told The Hill in a statement Monday.

“At the end of the day, our goal is simple: for our customers to have access to the best app or service of their choice, in a safe and secure environment. We welcome the opportunity to show the European Commission all we’ve done to make that goal a reality.”

Apple CEO Tim Cook has also defended the company’s app policies.

“In a challenging and unsettled time, the App Store provides enduring opportunities for entrepreneurship, health and well-being, education, and job creation, helping people adapt quickly to a changing world,” he said in a statement last week.

Welcome to Monday’s Overnight Health Care.

Top health officials will testify in the House on Tuesday, giving an opportunity for Democrats to grill them about the administration’s coronavirus response.   

President TrumpDonald John TrumpSouth Korea slams Bolton book as ‘distorting the reality’ of nuclear talks Democrats face tough questions with Bolton Protesters try to bring down statue of Andrew Jackson near White House MORE refused to say if he actually told staff to slow down COVID-19 testing in order to make it seem like there were fewer cases. And in non-COVID news, LGBTQ advocates filed a lawsuit trying to block a new rule rolling back non-discrimination protections for transgender patients. 

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We’ll start with Trump:

Trump refuses to say if he slowed down coronavirus testing

President Trump on Monday refused to say whether he told staff to slow down COVID-19 testing to make it look like the U.S. had fewer cases, while White House officials denied he had ever given such an order. 

Trump has been blaming rising numbers of coronavirus cases in the U.S. on increased testing, arguing the country has been doing “too good a job.”

“If we did slow it down, we wouldn’t show nearly as many cases,” he said in an interview with Scripps News. 

Asked again if he had asked to slow testing down, he replied: “Frankly I think we’re way ahead of ourselves if you want to know the truth. We’ve done too good a job, because every time we go out with 25 million tests, you’re going to find more people so then they say ‘oh, we have more cases in the United States.’ The reason we have more cases [is] because we do more testing than any other country by far.” 

Context: Trump generated outrage this weekend when he said at his first campaign rally in months that he told staff to “slow the testing down, please.” Trump aides have said the comments were a joke. At least one governor — Nevada’s Steve Sisolak (D) — told Vice President Pence in a conference calls with other governors that Trump’s comments were not helpful. Pence and other government officials have attributed increases in COVID-19 cases to increased testing, but experts say that is only partly true. 

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Read more here. 

Trump health officials to testify on continued dangers of coronavirus pandemic

Four of the Trump administration’s top health officials will testify in front of a House committee on Tuesday, giving House Democrats a rare opportunity to grill administration officials about their response to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Oversight efforts have been stymied by the White House’s policy that senior officials are not allowed to testify without permission from chief of staff Mark MeadowsMark Randall MeadowsOvernight Health Care: Trump refuses to say if he slowed down coronavirus testing | US COVID-19 cases rise, marking ugly contrast with Europe | Trump health officials to testify on continued dangers of coronavirus pandemic Trump health officials to testify on continued dangers of coronavirus pandemic When will Americans — all Americans — declare that enough is enough? MORE.

Who will be there: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Director Anthony FauciAnthony FauciOvernight Health Care: Trump refuses to say if he slowed down coronavirus testing | US COVID-19 cases rise, marking ugly contrast with Europe | Trump health officials to testify on continued dangers of coronavirus pandemic Trump health officials to testify on continued dangers of coronavirus pandemic 12 Texas bars temporarily lose alcohol permits for violating coronavirus restrictions MORE, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn and the administration’s testing czar, Assistant Secretary for Health Brett Giroir. 

What they’ll say: The coronavirus pandemic will not end anytime soon, and the upcoming flu season could make it even worse.

“While it remains unclear how long the pandemic will last, COVID-19 activity will likely continue for some time,” officials will say Tuesday, according to a joint prepared testimony posted online. 

They will also testify that a vaccine may not be ready as soon as President Trump wants.

“The rigorous clinical testing required to establish vaccine safety and efficacy means that it might take some time for a licensed SARS-CoV-2 vaccine to be available to the general public,” according to testimony from NIAID. “The COVID-19 response currently is focused on the proven public health practices of containment and mitigation.”

Read more here.

US COVID-19 cases rise, marking ugly contrast with Europe

New U.S. coronavirus cases are rising again in a worrying new sign for the country’s outbreak. 

The number of new cases nationally climbed above 30,000 per day over the weekend, after having leveled off at around 20,000 per day for weeks. 

The new spike is even more striking given the contrast with major European countries that were hit hard by the virus but are now doing much better and have so far been able to keep new cases low. 

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The rise in the U.S. also comes as the Trump administration has sought to paint a bright picture on the U.S. outlook.

Just last week, Vice President Pence wrote in The Wall Street Journal: “Cases have stabilized over the past two weeks, with the daily average case rate across the U.S. dropping to 20,000 — down from 30,000 in April and 25,000 in May.”

President Trump went even further during a Fox News interview last week, telling Sean HannitySean Patrick HannityOvernight Health Care: Trump refuses to say if he slowed down coronavirus testing | US COVID-19 cases rise, marking ugly contrast with Europe | Trump health officials to testify on continued dangers of coronavirus pandemic US COVID-19 cases rise, marking ugly contrast with Europe Trump, GOP place big bet on economy for 2020 MORE that the virus will “fade away” even without a vaccine, despite the thousands of new cases in the country per day.

Read more here.

Related: Texas governor says coronavirus spread ‘unacceptable’ but imposes no new requirements

Louisiana pushes back next reopening phase by four weeks as coronavirus cases spike

WHO: More testing doesn’t explain COVID-19 spikes in US

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About the administration’s explanation for more U.S. cases….the WHO is not buying it. 

A top official at the World Health Organization (WHO) said Monday that a spike in the number of U.S. coronavirus cases is not solely the result of increased testing, a sign the virus is spreading widely in states across the country.

Some have pointed to an increase in tests, which identify a larger number of asymptomatic and low-symptomatic COVID-19 cases, as the reason for the recent spikes.

But most of those states are also seeing an increase in the percentage of tests that come back positive, indicating the virus is spreading quickly. If the virus were stable, the percentage of positive tests would be declining.

“What is clear is that the increase [in cases] is not entirely explained through just increased testing. There is some evidence of increased hospitalizations. But this was always a possibility when restrictions were lifted,” said Mike Ryan, who directs the WHO’s emergency program overseeing the response to the pandemic.

Read more here.

Democrats: Trump has yet to spend nearly $14B for COVID-19 tests, contact tracing

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The Trump administration has yet to distribute nearly $14 billion intended to help state and local governments improve coronavirus testing and contact tracing, according to two top Democrats.

In a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senate Health Committee ranking member Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said the administration needs to “immediately” distribute the funding.

Background: Congress in April provided more than $25 billion to increase testing and contact tracing capacity, as well as $2 billion to provide free COVID-19 testing for the uninsured by paying providers’ claims for tests and other services associated with getting a test, like an office or emergency room visit. 

Schumer and Murray said the administration has no plans for how to distribute more than $8 billion out of that $25 billion, leaving communities without needed resources.

“The United States is at a critical juncture in its fight against COVID-19, and now is the time for an aggressive and fast response. This administration will put our country at grave risk if it tries to declare an early victory, leave lifesaving work undone, and leave resources our communities desperately need sitting untouched,” the lawmakers wrote.

Read more here. 

Emergency department visits for life-threatening conditions decline amid pandemic: study

Emergency department visits for life-threatening conditions including heart attacks dropped in the 10 weeks following the declaration of the COVID-19 public health emergency, according to an analysis published Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Visits dropped 23 percent for heart attacks, 20 percent for strokes and 10 percent for uncontrolled high blood sugar, according to the report. 

“The substantial reduction in [emergency department] visits for these life-threatening conditions might be explained by many pandemic-related factors including fear of exposure to COVID-19, unintended consequences of public health recommendations to minimize non-urgent health care, stay-at-home orders, or other reasons,” the authors of the report wrote.

It is “biologically implausible” or unlikely for visits to decline because fewer people are experiencing heart attacks, strokes or high blood sugar, they wrote.

Read more here. 

LGBTQ advocates sue Trump administration over rollback of non-discrimination protections

In non COVID-news, a lawsuit from advocacy groups and health clinics argues the Trump administration doesn’t have the authority to allow health providers to discriminate against LGBTQ patients, and seeks to block a new rule from taking effect.

“A person’s access to health care should not be contingent on their sex, gender identity, transgender status, sexual orientation, race, national origin, age, disability, or religion,” the complaint said. 

“Yet, in the midst of a global pandemic, the Trump Administration’s Department of Health and Human Services has sought to diminish protections from discrimination in health care,” according to the complaint.

The filing comes a week after the Supreme Court ruled in 6-3 decision that employers are prohibited from firing or discriminating against anyone who is gay or transgender. 

While unrelated to the administration’s health care rule, the groups argue that the Supreme Court’s definition of “sex discrimination” applies to health care as well, and are confident that the courts will support that argument.

Read more here.

What we’re reading

Young people in the US South and West are increasingly getting coronavirus (CNN) 

‘They just dumped him like trash’: Nursing homes evict vulnerable residents (The New York Times) 

Amid COVID-19, federal minority health experts are conspicuously silent (STAT)

State by state

A dozen Texas bars temporarily lose alcohol permits for allegedly breaking coronavirus protocols (CNN)

Texas governor warns coronavirus is spreading at an “unacceptable rate” (Axios) 

Social gatherings help fuel rising coronavirus spread in parts of California (LA Times) 

Op-eds in The Hill

Racism’s plague on public health

Get the ‘F’ out of the FDA

President TrumpDonald John TrumpSouth Korea slams Bolton book as ‘distorting the reality’ of nuclear talks Democrats face tough questions with Bolton Protesters try to bring down statue of Andrew Jackson near White House MORE asserted Tuesday that the United States would record fewer cases of the novel coronavirus with less testing, after stirring controversy by saying over the weekend he asked aides to slow down testing.

“Cases are going up in the U.S. because we are testing far more than any other country, and ever expanding. With smaller testing we would show fewer cases!” Trump tweeted Tuesday morning.

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Trump has been scrutinized for saying at a campaign rally in Tulsa, Okla., on Saturday that testing was a “double-edged sword” and that he told his staff to “slow the testing down, please.” The White House has said the comment was meant as a joke.

“It was a comment that he made in jest,” White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters Monday. “It’s a comment that he made in passing, specifically with regard to the media coverage and pointing out the fact that the media never acknowledges that we have more cases because when you test more people, you find more cases.”

Trump denied telling his administration to scale back testing in an interview on Monday with CBN News, but said he believed widespread testing put the U.S. at a “disadvantage.” Trump said his remark at the rally was “semi tongue-in-cheek.”

“Instead of 25 million tests, let’s say we did 10 million tests. We’d look like we were doing much better because we’d have far fewer cases. You understand that,” Trump said. “I wouldn’t do that, but I will say this: We do so much more than other countries it makes us, in a way, look bad but actually we’re doing the right thing.”

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The U.S. has conducted over 25 million tests for the novel coronavirus, leading the globe in cases with more than 2.3 million positive tests.

Trump’s remarks on testing come as several states are experiencing spikes in cases after relaxing restrictions meant to curb the spread of the virus so businesses can reopen. Cases began to rise nationally over the weekend after plateauing, with states like Arizona, Texas and Florida experiencing severe upticks in cases.

The White House has sought to minimize concerns about the new spikes, attributing them in part to an expansion of testing, though health experts say that the rises in cases cannot be accounted for by increased testing alone.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday removed a number of redactions from former special counsel Robert MuellerRobert (Bob) MuellerCNN’s Toobin warns McCabe is in ‘perilous condition’ with emboldened Trump CNN anchor rips Trump over Stone while evoking Clinton-Lynch tarmac meeting The Hill’s 12:30 Report: New Hampshire fallout MORE’s report on Russian interference in the 2016 election amid a court battle over information withheld from the report.

The DOJ submitted the re-processed report in a court filing, saying that the redactions in question are no longer necessary following the conclusion of the criminal case against Roger StoneRoger Jason StoneMueller investigated whether Trump misled him on WikiLeaks question in Russia probe Mueller report re-released with fewer redactions after legal battle Prosecutor who quit Roger Stone case to testify before Congress about ‘politicization’ of DOJ MORE, the longtime GOP operative and former Trump campaign adviser.

The department said the redactions were originally made to protect the prosecution against Stone over charges of lying to Congress and witness tampering.

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Stone was convicted of all seven charges against him and was sentenced earlier this year to more than three years in prison.

The new information from the report comes three months after a federal judge demanded that the DOJ hand over the unredacted report for his review and blasted Attorney General William BarrBill BarrUS attorney in NYC who spearheaded probes of Trump allies refuses to leave as DOJ pushes ouster Barr echoes Trump’s concerns about mail-in voting, says it could ‘open the floodgates of potential fraud’ Mueller report re-released with fewer redactions after legal battle MORE‘s handling of its publication.

“The inconsistencies between Attorney General Barr’s statements, made at a time when the public did not have access to the redacted version of the Mueller Report to assess the veracity of his statements, and portions of the redacted version of the Mueller Report that conflict with those statements cause the Court to seriously question whether Attorney General Barr made a calculated attempt to influence public discourse about the Mueller Report in favor of President TrumpDonald John TrumpProtesters tear down, burn statue of Confederate general in DC US attorney in NYC who spearheaded probes of Trump allies refuses to leave as DOJ pushes ouster Trump to host 4th of July event despite pleas from lawmakers to cancel MORE despite certain findings in the redacted version of the Mueller Report to the contrary,” Judge Reggie B. Walton wrote in a decision from March.

The developments came in response to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuits from the nonprofit Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and news outlets Buzzfeed and CNN.

 

The new version of the public report reveals a section in Volume I devoted to Stone’s efforts to act as a liaison between the 2016 Trump presidential campaign and WikiLeaks, which at the time was releasing troves of hacked emails from Democratic Party officials and Hillary ClintonHillary Diane Rodham ClintonMueller investigated whether Trump misled him on WikiLeaks question in Russia probe Mueller report re-released with fewer redactions after legal battle Jamaal Bowman raises M, launches 0,000 ad buy ahead of New York primary MORE‘s campaign.

 

Much of the newly-revealed information served as the basis for Mueller’s prosecution of Stone and was revealed during his trial.

 

Prosecutors charged that Stone lied to Congress about his efforts to communicate with WikiLeaks and its founder Julian AssangeJulian Paul AssangeMueller investigated whether Trump misled him on WikiLeaks question in Russia probe Mueller report re-released with fewer redactions after legal battle FBI releases documents showing Roger Stone, Julian Assange communications MORE through a backchannel.

 

The Mueller report details Stone’s communications with then-candidate Trump and top officials in his campaign in which he claimed to have inside knowledge of WikiLeaks plans, months before the organization released a trove of hacked emails from Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta.

 

“Stone also had conversations about WikiLeaks with Steve BannonStephen (Steve) Kevin BannonMueller report re-released with fewer redactions after legal battle Trump appointee ousts multiple officials within US media agency: reports House Democrat warns of potential staff purge at US media agency MORE, both before and after Bannon took over as the chairman of the Trump Campaign,” the report reads. “Bannon recalled that, before joining the Campaign on August 13, 2016, Stone told him that he had a connection to Assange.”

 

“Stone implied that he had inside information about WikiLeaks,” the report continues. “After Bannon took over as campaign chairman, Stone repeated to Bannon that he had a relationship with Assange and said that WikiLeaks was going to dump additional materials that would be bad for the Clinton Campaign.”

 

Stone is currently appealing his case and is set to report to prison by the end of the month. Trump has openly toyed with the idea of granting him a full pardon, decrying the case against him from Mueller’s office as part of a witch hunt.

Tal Axelrod contributed.

Updated: 7:41 p.m.

A U.S. soldier is accused of sending information to a neo-Nazi group as part of an alleged plot to facilitate a “mass casualty” event on his Army unit, federal prosecutors said Monday. 

The FBI arrested the 22-year-old soldier, Ethan Melzer, of Louisville, Ky., on June 10 after the FBI and Army thwarted his alleged plot in late May, according to a Department of Justice release. 

Melzer allegedly shared information about his Army unit, including its location, with members of a neo-Nazi group, Order of Nine Angles, or O9A, prosecutors said. 

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Melzer and his co-conspirators planned what they referred to as a “jihadi attack” with the objective of causing “mass casualty,” according to the criminal complaint and indictment charging Melzer. 

Melzer admitted his role in plotting the attack, said he intended the attack to result in the deaths of as many of his fellow service members as possible and declared himself to be a traitor against the U.S, prosecutors said. 

“Melzer declared himself to be a traitor against the United States, and described his own conduct as tantamount to treason. We agree. He turned his back on his county and his unit while aligning himself with members of the neo-Nazi group O9A,” William Sweeney Jr., the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York field office, said in the release. “Today, he is in custody and facing a lifetime of service – behind bars – which is appropriate given the severity of the conduct we allege today.” 

Melzer is charged with conspiring and attempting to murder U.S. nationals, conspiring and attempting to murder military service members, providing and attempting to provide materials support to terrorists, and conspiring to murder and maim in a foreign country.

Officials said members and associates of O9A have espoused violent, neo-Nazi, anti-Semitic and satanic beliefs. 

Melzer allegedly consumed propaganda from multiple extremist groups, including O9A and ISIS, around October 2019, before he was deployed abroad, according to the criminal complaint and indictment. 

After Melzer was informed around April 2020 of plans for further foreign deployment by his unit, he allegedly used an encrypted application to send messages to members of O9A regarding sensitive information related to this unit’s deployment. Around May 17, Melzer allegedly exchanged messages about the anticipated deployment to a purported member of al Qaeda, according to the complaint and indictment. 

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Eight nonwhite corrections officers for Ramsey County, Minn., alleged in a discrimination filing that they were barred from guarding Derek Chauvin, the police officer charged with second-degree murder in the killing of George Floyd, specifically because of their race.

The discrimination charges, filed with the state Department of Human Rights, allege that upon Chauvin’s arrival at the county jail, a supervisor ordered all officers to a separate floor and told them that their race made them a potential “liability” around the former Minneapolis police officer, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, citing a copy of the charges.

“I understood that the decision to segregate us had been made because we could not be trusted to carry out our work responsibilities professionally around the high-profile inmate — solely because of the color of our skin,” one acting sergeant, who is black, wrote in the filing. “I am not aware of a similar situation where white officers were segregated from an inmate.”

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“I think they deserve to have employment decisions made based on performance and behavior,” Bonnie Smith, a Minneapolis attorney representing the officers, told the newspaper of her clients. “Their main goal is to make sure this never happens again.”

Steve Lydon, superintendent of the jail, later told his superiors he made the decision with minority employees in mind, according to a statement provided by the sheriff’s office.

“Out of care and concern, and without the comfort of time, I made a decision to limit exposure to employees of color to a murder suspect who could potentially aggravate those feelings,” Lydon reportedly said in a statement. He has since been demoted, according to the newspaper. According to the right officers’ charges, Lydon admitted to singling out officers of color and defended the decision as a precaution against “acute racialized trauma” but reversed the decision within 45 minutes.

“I realized that I had erred in judgment and issued an apology to the affected employees,” he said, but at least one officer’s work schedule had been changed for the weekend to reflect the move, according to the newspaper.

The Hill has reached out to the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office for comment.

The rising number of COVID-19 cases in states across the country is due in large part to more young people contracting the virus, raising alarms among public health officials.

The spikes suggest young adults are both more likely to hold front-line service jobs that put them at risk and more likely to ignore some of the social distancing practices advised by health experts.

The most troubling hot spots are now concentrated in Sun Belt states such as Arizona, California, Florida, North Carolina and Texas. All five of those states have reported more than 1,000 new cases per day this week, making them the only five states to break the four-digit barrier during that period.

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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said the majority of new cases in his state are coming from residents who are under 30 years old. He said many of the cases are tied to “bar-type settings” where people have been congregating since Memorial Day weekend.

“What we’re seeing there is that people of that age group, they’re not following these appropriate best health and safety practices,” Abbott said in an interview this week with KLBK, a McAllen television station. “They’re not wearing face masks. They’re not sanitizing their hands. They’re not maintaining the safe distancing practices. And as a result, they are contracting COVID-19 at a record pace in the state of Texas.”

In California, 44 percent of recent coronavirus cases occurred in those under the age of 35, according to a study by George Lemp, director of the University of California’s HIV/AIDS Research Program.

California officials said they have seen an increasing number of younger people contracting the virus but that it was likely a function of a rising number of diagnostic tests administered to those who show few if any symptoms.

“In the first months of the outbreak, when testing was more limited, we were largely testing individuals who were most vulnerable, including those who were hospitalized or had arrived at an emergency room with severe symptoms as well as high-risk individuals with symptoms in congregate facilities where an outbreak might have been occurring,” said Ali Bay, a spokeswoman for the state health department. 

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“We have significantly expanded the availability of testing to cover a broader set of communities and environments and are now seeing a lot of younger people get tested, including people who are in higher risk work environments, others who are returning to non-essential jobs, and people who want to know their status,” she added. 

Bay also pointed to statistics showing that the number of hospitalizations remains stable and that the percentage of tests coming back positive has dropped.

Clusters of new cases among young people have emerged around the University of Central Florida in Orlando and in Mobile County, Ala. Other cases have been tied to a party in Uinta County, Wyo., and fraternity parties around the University of Mississippi in Oxford. 

Figures compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that about 40 percent of the coronavirus cases confirmed since early March have been among people between the ages of 18 and 49, the narrowest range their data covers. The percentage of younger people as a share of the total population who have tested positive has steadily risen, from 32 percent in the first week of March to more than half over the past week. 

“We know that younger people are less likely to show symptoms — so earlier on when testing was only happening if you had symptoms, the skew looked to be toward older people primarily getting COVID-19, which was likely not the case. We just were not testing enough,” said Abraar Karan, an internist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. “Countries that were testing everyone already showed a skew toward younger people driving the epidemic months ago.”

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Karan pointed to studies from Japan that showed people between the ages of 20 and 39 made up a majority of coronavirus cases. He said younger people are more likely to venture out after months in lockdown, in part because they do not think they are at risk as much as older people are.

“Younger people are more likely to be back out and about, probably because they perceive their personal risk to be less than older people do. They are likely to have more person-contacts in a day as well by virtue of being more socially and economically active. They are also more likely to be attending certain types of high risk venues, such as bars and clubs,” he said in an email.

Others said younger workers are also more likely to venture out for economic reasons. They are more likely to have jobs in the service industry, putting them at risk of contracting the virus through contacts with restaurant, convenience store and grocery store patrons. 

“Rent, car payments, grocery bills didn’t really slow down during the quarantine, and hourly employees’ wallets are empty,” said Nita Bharti, a biologist at the Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics at Penn State University. “The government’s inadequate economic relief response made quarantine wholly unsustainable for the people who most needed support during the shutdowns.” 

The increasing number of younger people contracting the virus has not led to a spike in younger people in the hospital or dying. Research shows the virus is still much more likely to have the worst outcomes for older people and those who have underlying conditions.

But experts are concerned that those who contract the virus can put others at risk, either fellow young people or parents, grandparents and others who might face more severe consequences.

While more testing does lead to more positive tests, an increase in the number of people who are tested does not completely account for the total rise in confirmed cases, according to Marta Wosinska, deputy director of policy at the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy. 

That suggests the virus continues to spread at faster rates in some places. 

“You do expect that if you do more testing you might find more cases, but that’s actually not the case in most states here,” Wosinska said. “In states like Texas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Arizona, you do see an increase in testing, but you see the cases rising at a much faster rate.”