The Babylon Bee, a Christian satire website, said Wednesday it has “concerns” over Twitter’s policy used to suspend accounts after the social media platform temporarily suspended The Babylon Bee’s account earlier this week after mistakenly labeling it as spam. 

The Babylon Bee’s CEO Seth Dillon on Monday said the website’s Twitter account had been suspended before sharing a follow up post with a screenshot of an email with Twitter’s apology. 

Twitter said it was “sorry for the inconvenience” and said the account had been “flagged as spam by mistake,” according to the screenshot of the email Dillon tweeted.\

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Dillon posted on Facebook Wednesday about “concerns” The Babylon Bee has over Twitter’s “mistakes,” suggesting the social media platform is skewed against The Babylon Bee’s conservative content. 

“So we’re back on Twitter, at least for the time being. But we share the concerns of others who’ve rightly observed that these ‘mistakes’ tend to work in one direction,” Dillon said. 

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Dillon urged supporters of the website to subscribe to its social media platforms to limit the chance of getting suspended again, noting that it relies on Facebook and Twitter to drive traffic. 

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He also included a statement the website sent out when it launched its subscription service, claiming social media companies aren’t “friendly to Christians or conservatives” and instead are hostile “toward those with more traditional views and values.”

A Twitter spokesman confirmed in a statement to The Hill that the account was mistakenly caught in a spam filter, adding that the account has been reinstated. The spokesman did not directly respond to Dillon’s accusations and concerns about the platform’s policy.

Updated on Aug. 20 at 10:26 a.m.

The new head of the National Park Service (NPS) has reportedly told the agency’s regional directors that they shouldn’t let staff shortages linked to COVID-19 limit access to the parks. 

“Within the sideboards of guidance, outdoor spaces should be accessible, including outdoor areas such as picnic areas, parking lots, overlooks, open-air areas in forts and gardens, and campgrounds should be fully accessible,” acting Director Margaret Everson told regional leadership in an email obtained by National Parks Traveler. 

“Staffing limitations should not be a constraining factor in providing access to outdoor spaces,” Everson reportedly added. 

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NPS spokesperson Stephanie Roulett told The Hill in an email that the Everson’s “message is supportive of our duty to serve the public and conserve our natural resources.”

“We continue to be flexible with modifications to park operations and are committed to ensuring park superintendents have the resources — staffing and otherwise — to safely maintain operations and public accessibility,” Roulett added. “NPS will continue to work with superintendents and park managers to account for the unique needs of each park and the health and wellness of their staff using the available flexibilities and hiring authorities.”

Everson was named as the leader of NPS, typically a role requiring Senate confirmation, this month through an order from Interior Secretary David Bernhardt that has no end date. She has served as a counselor to Bernhardt dealing with matters relating to NPS and the Fish and Wildlife Service. 

Parks advocates slammed the reported email, raising concerns about the spread of the virus. 

“This directive from Acting Director Everson demonstrates her complete lack of understanding regarding how parks operate and what National Park Service (NPS) employees actually do. Her comment should disqualify her from serving as the acting director, as it demonstrates her lack of experience and support for NPS staff and the protection of park resources,” said a statement from Phil Francis, the former superintendent of the Blue Ridge Parkway. 

“Her suggestion that all outdoor facilities, including campgrounds and picnic areas should be open despite staff shortages suggests she thinks these facilities run themselves. They do not. NPS employees are required to empty the trash, clean the restrooms, take water samples for public health, handle campground issues, respond to medical emergencies, and so much more,” added Francis, who now leads the advocacy group Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks. “To suggest that all these facilities remain open despite staff shortages due to the COVID-19 pandemic is a further insult to the dedicated managers and employees of these national parks and puts their health at further risk.” 

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The reported email from Everson comes amid a broader push by the Trump administration to keep the parks open, even amid concerns from advocates and epidemiologists.

Many parks began to close earlier this year amid concerns about the health of staff and visitors, especially those who gather in crowded areas. 

The Trump administration, however, encouraged many to reopen as part of a broader push to open the country back up. 

The Interior Department has defended the reopening, with Bernhardt saying in a statement this year that “it is time the American people once again enjoy the incredible benefits of the great outdoors at our national parks.”

He has also argued that social distancing can be accomplished in the parks. 

The agency’s leadership structure has also recently faced scrutiny. Advocates this year sued in an attempt to remove Everson’s predecessor David Vela as well as the leader Bureau of the Leader of Land Management because both held their roles for an extended period without Senate confirmation. 

Everson has also not been confirmed by the Senate, though she has only led NPS for a short time.

Updated: 6:18 p.m.

Delta plans to furlough almost 2,000 pilots in October after the travel industry took a significant hit in the coronavirus pandemic, the company said in a memo obtained by The Hill Monday.

Delta’s head of flight operations John Laughter said in a memo sent Monday that the airline is planning to furlough 1,941 pilots after determining it was “overstaffed” for the future. 

The airline determined it will need about 9,450 active pilots for the summer of 2021, which it estimates to be the next “peak flying” period in the next 12 to 18 months. Currently, Delta employs about 11,200 active pilots, according to the memo. 

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“We are simply overstaffed, and we are faced with an incredibly difficult decision,” he wrote, adding that letters will be sent to pilots hired on or after July 17, 2017 “later this week.” 

Delta originally had expected to cut more than 2,500 pilots but its Voluntary Early Out Program had a “higher than originally estimated” participation. 

The airline had participated in the federal government’s aid program which distributed $25 billion to companies that agreed to protect jobs through September. Airline officials and unions have called for the financial assistance to continue, but talks in Congress have stalled.

“We are six months into this pandemic and only 25% of our revenues have been recovered,” Laughter said in the memo. “Unfortunately, we see few catalysts over the next six months to meaningful change this trajectory.”

Laughter said if a deal is reached with lawmakers the company can decrease or avoid the furloughs, noting it’s not looking likely.

“To those who will be furloughed, I recognize this will have a profound effect on you and your families and we will do all we can to stay connected with you,” he wrote. “Though we expect a multi-year recovery, we will work diligently to bring you back to Delta as soon as we can, if demand recovers better than we are anticipating.”

Delta’s Chief Operating Officer Gil West also announced his retirement on Monday 

Other airlines, including U.S. Airlines and American Airlines, have said there could be mass layoffs in October once the federal agreement expires.

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South Korea is imposing tight COVID-19 pandemic measures nationwide as cases rise throughout the southern peninsula.

The government is banning large gatherings, shutting down nightclubs and churches, closing beaches, and removing fans from professional sporting events to curb the spread of the virus, The Associated Press reported.

Health Minister Park Neung-hoo announced the new measures following a notice from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reporting 332 new cases.

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The report marks the ninth straight day of triple-digit case increases.

“We are now in a very dangerous situation that could trigger a massive nationwide spread of COVID-19,” Park said.

While most cases were concentrated in Seoul, new infections have spiked in every major city and town.

The national COVID-19 caseload is now at 17,002, with 309 fatalities.

Church gatherings are reportedly the biggest source of the spread, but authorities in Seoul also shut down buffet restaurants, karaoke bars and computer gaming cafes.

According to the AP, nearly 800 of the country’s cases were linked to a church in Seoul led by a vocal critic of South Korea’s president, Moon Jae-in.

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The measures will apply nationwide from Sunday, although Park said some local governments would be allotted some flexibility, such as advising businesses to shut down rather than forcing them to close.

The measures will be imposed until the government has reviewed the effect of the restrictions on case numbers, said Yoon Taeho, a senior Health Ministry official.

He added that stricter measures could be imposed if case numbers continue to spike.

A former business associate of Jerry Falwell Jr. on Monday told Reuters the evangelical leader was a willing participant in an affair he had with Falwell’s wife Becki Falwell, a day after Jerry Falwell told the Washington Examiner that his family was being blackmailed.

Giancarlo Granda told the news service that he met the couple in 2012 while working as a hotel pool attendant at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach and that the affair lasted from that time into 2018.

“Becki and I developed an intimate relationship and Jerry enjoyed watching from the corner of the room,” Granda told Reuters. He said the relationship eventually ended due to a business dispute with the Falwells.

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Granda shared what he claimed was evidence of the arrangement with Reuters. The materials included audio of Becki Falwell objecting to Granda describing his other relationships, saying “He’s like telling me every time he hooks up with people. Like I don’t have feelings or something.”

“You’re going to make her jealous,” Jerry Falwell adds.

In a June 2020 text message, Granda tells Jerry Falwell “since you’re okay with ruining my life, I am going to take the kamikaze route.”

An attorney for Jerry Falwell, Michael Bowe, told Reuters last week his client “categorically denies everything you indicated you intend to publish about him.”

However, in a statement to the Washington Examiner on Sunday, Jerry Falwell said his wife had a brief affair with Granda and that he then attempted to blackmail the couple. He said he “was not involved” in the affair.

The Hill has reached out to a representative for the Falwells for comment.

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Granda denied any blackmail, saying he had simply attempted to secure a buyout from his business partnership with the Falwells.

Both Jerry Falwell’s statement and Granda’s allegations come weeks after the evangelical leader announced an indefinite leave of absence as president of Liberty University. Jerry Falwell had posted and deleted an Instagram photo of himself with his pants unzipped and his arm around his wife’s assistant days before the board of trustees announced his leave. He has run the Christian university since his father’s death in 2007.

The board of trustees said Friday it has yet to make a final decision about whether to fire Jerry Falwell.

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A group of WeChat users is suing the Trump administration in an attempt to block enforcement of an executive order that would effectively ban the popular Chinese messaging app in the United States. 

In a lawsuit filed on Friday in federal court in San Francisco, the nonprofit group WeChat Users Alliance and some of the app’s users claimed that the executive action violates several of their constitutional rights while also destroying an “irreplaceable cultural bridge” for those who use the app to connect with family and friends in China. 

The complaint asked the court to declare the executive order unconstitutional and to block the administration from moving forward with its implementation. The plaintiffs said that WeChat and its Chinese parent company, Tencent Holdings, were not affiliated with the legal effort.

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“In short, the threatened displacement of these WeChat users from their public space is an irreparable harm that requires judicial intervention,” the lawsuit said. 

President TrumpDonald John TrumpTwo ‘The Apprentice’ producers helping with Republican National Convention About 70,000 lives could be saved in near future if people wear masks: researchers Trump issues disaster declaration for California as wildfires rage MORE in early August signed a pair of executive orders targeting WeChat and TikTok, the short-form video app owned by the Chinese firm ByteDance, on grounds that they posed a threat to national security and foreign policy. The order declared a ban on all U.S. transactions with the companies starting on Sept. 20, which will likely affect the apps’ placement on the Google and Apple app stores. 

Under the order, Commerce Secretary Wilbur RossWilbur Louis RossHillicon Valley: Trump administration cracks down further against Huawei chip production, affiliate groups | California ruling against Uber, Lyft threatens to upend gig economy Trump administration cracks down further against Huawei chip production, affiliate groups Bipartisan senators ask congressional leadership to extend census deadline MORE will identify the transactions that will be barred once it goes into effect. However, the lawsuit argues that the vagueness of the initial order leaves “individuals and companies at a loss” as to whether they will risk civil or criminal penalties “if they do not fundamentally change the way they communicate or run their businesses. 

They asked the court to stay the implementation date of any penalty provisions from the order “until a reasonable time after” more information is offered on what U.S. transactions will be prohibited. 

Friday’s lawsuit came just a day before TikTok, which boasts more than 100 million users in the U.S., announced its plans to move forward with a complaint against the administration. 

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“To ensure that the rule of law is not discarded and that our company and users are treated fairly, we have no choice but to challenge the Executive Order through the judicial system,” a TikTok spokesperson told The Hill, noting that Trump’s decision lacked “due process” and “paid no attention to facts.” 

A TikTok employee is also mounting a legal challenge on behalf of U.S.-based workers. Patrick Ryan, a technical manager at TikTok, said 1,500 U.S. employees are at risk of not receiving paychecks once a ban on transactions goes into effect. 

Trump invoked national security and cited concerns about the collections of user data from Chinese-linked companies while issuing the orders earlier this month. 

In addition to its constitutional claims, the WeChat users alleged that the White House has provided no evidence to support its position. 

WeChat has roughly 19 million daily active users in the United States, including approximately 1 billion monthly active users worldwide, according to the lawsuit. The app is commonly used by students and expats to communicate with people back in China, where apps including Facebook and WhatsApp are blocked. 

 

Ohio State University has suspended more than 200 students for what the school says were violations of coronavirus safety measures.

Ben Johnson, a spokesman for the university, told Forbes all 228 students will have to leave campus while their cases are pending. The majority of the suspensions, he said, concern alleged social distancing violations at off-campus parties.

“Let me remind you: organizations and individuals will be held accountable for their unsafe behaviors,” Melissa S. Shivers, Ohio State’s vice president for student life, said in a statement Friday. “Our Student Conduct team is in the process of opening dozens of conduct cases which likely will result in interim suspensions for individuals and student organizations who have chosen to hold parties that are not consistent with safe and healthy guidelines.”

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““For many, this could be their last semester as a student,” she added. “For first year students, their first college experience at Ohio State. For some, this is where they find housing safety and food security. Don’t make intentional choices now that inherently challenge the future for so many members of our Buckeye family.”

Gatherings of 10 or more people on or off-campus are currently banned for students.

Johnson told the Columbus Dispatch that some of the students who received notices have told the university they no longer live at the address in question and that the university will lift suspensions if the address change is confirmed.

Students cited for attending or hosting large parties also risk losing access to campus and non-remote classes, according to the newspaper. Student organizations, meanwhile, would stand to use university recognition or funding and access to event spaces.

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The U.S. government on Wednesday denied a United Nations panel’s accusation that states have restricted abortion access during the COVID-19 pandemic, and rejected the notion that there is an assumed “right to abortion.” 

“The United States is disappointed by and categorically rejects this transparent attempt to take advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to assert the existence of such a right,” the U.S. mission in Geneva said in a letter to the U.N. Working Group on Discrimination Against Women and Girls.

The mission was responding to a letter the working group sent in May regarding alleged undue “restrictions taken in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic impeding access to abortion services” in the United States.

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The U.S. called the panel’s letter “bizarre and inexplicable,” and said the accusations were “a perversion of the human rights system and the founding principles of the United Nations.”

The United States has said one of its major international priorities is “protecting the unborn.”

President TrumpDonald John TrumpThe Memo: GOP seeks to detoxify Trump at convention Harris honors Women’s Equality Day in op-ed, calls for voting reform Trump breaks with precedent on second night of convention MORE said in his address to the U.N. General Assembly last year that it has “no business attacking the sovereignty of nations that wish to protect innocent life.”

The U.N. working group said in its letter that COVID-19 emergency orders suspending non-emergency medical procedures had been used by states such as Texas, Oklahoma, Alabama, Iowa, Ohio, Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee to restrict access to abortion.

“We regret that the above-mentioned states, with a long history of restrictive practices against abortion, appear to be manipulating the crisis to severely restrict women’s reproductive rights,” Elizabeth Broderick, the panel’s vice-chair, said at the time.

States justified the orders as necessary to conserve personal protective equipment, though none of them are still in effect. 

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The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and other leading medical professional organizations issued a statement defining abortion as a time-sensitive and “essential component of comprehensive health care,” adding that delays “may increase the risks or potentially make it completely inaccessible.” 

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But in response to the panel’s letter, the U.S. government’s representatives scolded the U.N. group for getting involved in American domestic policy, rather than focusing on “actual human rights abuses.”

“We are particularly disappointed that you have chosen to waste the limited time and resources of your mandates on such spurious allegations, rather than focusing your energies on areas where your attention is most appropriate and warranted,” the U.S. wrote. 

For example, the U.S. mission cited allegations of forced sterilizations and abortions being carried out by the Chinese Communist Party in China’s western region of Xinjiang.

“These are actual human rights abuses, implicating millions of women and girls and their health, on an industrial scale, targeting a vulnerable ethnic and religious minority. Yet the United Nations system — including the Secretary-General, the Human Rights Council, and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights — has been notably quiet on this topic,” the U.S. said. 

The U.S. representatives also said that silence is one of the reasons the U.S. sees the U.N.’s human rights system “as utterly broken.”

“The tendency of its self-appointed guardians to label  certain policy preferences as ‘rights’ [is] a practice that devalues the entire human rights enterprise and leads to absurd outcomes” like the panel’s letter, the U.S. said.

Welcome to Tuesday’s Overnight Health Care. 

The Trump administration will require nursing homes to test their staff, but not patients. Trump’s deadline for implementing his drug price executive order has passed, and nothing has happened. Meanwhile, states warn that FEMA may no longer pay for protective gear. 

Let’s start with nursing homes: 

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Trump administration to require nursing homes test staff for COVID-19

The Trump administration will require nursing homes test staff for COVID-19, and facilities that don’t comply could face financial penalties.

The new requirement, issued Tuesday by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and effective immediately, comes about six months after the virus began circulating in American nursing homes, killing tens of thousands of mostly elderly residents and sickening hundreds of thousands more. 

During the early stages of the pandemic, there were not enough kits available to perform tests on staff members. 

Now, after six months, enough testing is available to require testing of staff, who are thought to be the main spreaders of the virus in nursing homes.

Previously, the testing of staff was only recommended. 

“While we’ve had good compliance across the country, we want to make sure every single nursing home is doing this,” said CMS Administrator Seema Verma.

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Read more here.

Trump deadline for drug pricing order passes with no action

President TrumpDonald John TrumpThe Memo: GOP seeks to detoxify Trump at convention Harris honors Women’s Equality Day in op-ed, calls for voting reform Trump breaks with precedent on second night of convention MORE said in July that “August 24 at 12:00” was the deadline for implementing his drug pricing order. Well, that deadline has now come and gone without any action from the White House. 

The White House declined to comment when asked about the path forward for the order on Tuesday.

The order in question is called a “most-favored nation clause” and is aimed at lowering the prices for a subset of drugs paid for by Medicare to be in line with those paid in other developed countries. 

“We’re going to hold that until Aug. 24, hoping that the pharmaceutical companies will come up with something that will substantially reduce drug prices,” Trump said at the signing ceremony in July. “And the clock starts right now. So, it’s Aug. 24 at 12 [a.m.], after which the order on favored nations will go into effect.”

A deal with PhRMA? The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America has been in talks with the White House in recent days and has submitted an alternative proposal, sources said, amid Trump’s stated openness to a deal to avert the order, but it remains unclear if any bargain will be reached.

Read more here. 

Some good news: Africa eliminates polio in historic health win

African leaders said Tuesday the continent is free of wild poliovirus, a historic public health achievement that will spare tens of thousands of children from the devastating disease every year.

The Africa Regional Certification Commission for Polio Eradication officially declared the continent free of polio four years after Nigeria reported the last known case.

“This is a momentous milestone for Africa. Now future generations of African children can live free of wild polio,” said Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organization’s Africa regional director. 

Polio paralyzed an estimated 75,000 African children annually in the 1990s, when African nations began their push to eradicate the virus. Then-South African President Nelson Mandela kicked off the continent-wide effort to end infections in 1996.

Read more here. 

States say FEMA may no longer pay for protective gear 

State and local governments officials say the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has indicated it might no longer provide reimbursements for personal protective equipment (PPE) and other supplies needed to fight COVID-19.

FEMA reimburses state and local governments for 75 percent of the costs for PPE and disinfectants, but that arrangement may soon end, according to state and municipal leaders.

“This proposed change to PPE coverage continues a troubling pattern of shifting costs and responsibilities onto states and localities when they can least afford it,” the National Governors Association (NGA), National Conference of State Legislatures and other groups wrote in a letter Tuesday to FEMA Administrator Pete Gaynor.

An NGA spokesperson told The Hill that regional administrators for FEMA indicated in conversations with state officials that a reimbursement change could be coming, but no formal documents have been issued.

Read more here.

CDC says don’t argue with anti-maskers

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Retail and service industry workers should not argue with anti-maskers, according to updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

As part of new guidance for workplace safety, the agency said employees should not attempt to force customers to follow COVID-19 prevention policies if the customer gets agitated. 

“Don’t argue with a customer if they make threats or become violent,” the CDC says.

The CDC recommended that businesses institute policies such as mask wearing, social distancing and limits on customers, but warned that workers could be threatened or assaulted for enforcing them.

“Threats and assaults can happen in any workplace, but may be more likely to occur in retail, services (e.g., restaurants), and other customer- or client-based businesses,” the CDC said.

Read more here.

VIRTUAL EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT: COVID-19: THE WAY FORWARD — WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26TH AT 1PM EDT

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As election day approaches, the COVID-19 pandemic remains an ever-present threat. On the sidelines of the 2020 Republican Convention, The Hill will host a discussion with policymakers and hospital and medical school leaders about lessons learned from the coronavirus pandemic, the importance of research and innovation in battling healthcare crises, and the value of a resilient and responsive health care ecosystem. Rep. Michael BurgessMichael Clifton BurgessOvernight Health Care: Administration to require nursing homes test staff | Trump deadline for drug pricing order passes with no action | Africa eliminates polio in historic health win Overnight Health Care: Science inconclusive on use of convalescent plasma in COVID-19 patients | Fauci says Pence listens to him even though he’s ‘the skunk at the picnic’ | First confirmed coronavirus reinfection found in Hong Kong, researchers say Overnight Health Care: New Ebola outbreak in Congo raises alarm | CDC director says teachers don’t need ‘critical’ label MORE, M.D. (R-Texas) joins The Hill’s Steve Clemons.

RSVP for event reminders.

What we’re reading

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Universities sound alarm as coronavirus cases emerge just days into classes — 530 at one campus (Washington Post)

You can get reinfected with Covid-19 but still have immunity. Let’s explain. (Vox)

Four scenarios on how we might develop immunity to Covid-19 (Stat) 

State by state

Texas colleges already seeing COVID cases as classes begin (The Dallas Morning News)

Boston doctor aims to unseat longtime Democrat who voted against ObamaCare (HuffPost)

Beleaguered Texas Republicans’ latest threat: Coronavirus (Politico)  

The Hill op-eds

Would a Democrat have managed the pandemic better?

The S&P 500 index hit a new record high on Monday as the stock market stretched its tech-fueled rally into another week.

The S&P rose 29 points, or roughly 0.85 percent, to set a new intraday record at 3,426 on Monday after setting two new records last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also gained more than 250 points, rising roughly 1 percent, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.7 percent.

After treading water earlier in August, the stock market has continued its steady rebound from the depths of the coronavirus crash in March to recover nearly all of its pandemic-driven losses.

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Both the S&P and Nasdaq have broken records set before the market collapsed in February this summer, largely driven by the steady gains of major tech companies that have rebounded quickly from the pandemic. Experts say the market’s recovery is a function of the size of tech giants such as Apple, Alphabet, Facebook and Netflix and how well they are positioned to weather the unique aspects of the pandemic.

“Momentum is mostly in the ‘growth’ stocks, meaning Tech, and until the trade stops working, portfolio managers might be tempted to keep putting money there,” wrote JJ Kinahan, chief market strategist at TD Ameritrade, in a Friday analysis.

But the broader economy is facing growing risks of deeper downturn as Republicans and Democrats remain divided over another fiscal stimulus bill.

The $600 boost to weekly unemployment benefits and federal protections from eviction and foreclosure have been expired for roughly a month now, and relief from the federal government may not come until well into September.

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