Wednesday, October 14, 2020

COVID-19

► LIVE from the Seattle Times — Coronavirus daily news update, Oct. 14 — The latest count of COVID-19 cases in Washington totals 94,775 infections (7-day average of new infections per day: 552) and 2,211 deaths (7-day average of deaths per day: 6)

► From the Tri-City Herald — 6 more Tri-Cities school employees sick with COVID — The positive test results were announced just as the Burbank and Kennewick schools districts were bringing additional students back into schools and classrooms this week.

► From the Tri-City Herald — 37 Tri-Cities school employees have contracted COVID since classes started

► From the AP — Inslee: 5 Washington counties can relax virus restrictions — Gov. Jay Inslee says Yakima, Benton, Franklin, Douglas and Chelan counties will be moved from modified Phase 1 into Phase 2 to resume more activity and open more services.

► From Politico — Which states had the best pandemic response? — When Trump decided to delegate the pandemic response to the states, he gave them a chance to call their own shots. Some states acted aggressively to contain COVID-19, others far less so. For this story, reporters interviewed a wide range of health researchers, public officials and academic experts to ask them which states were standouts in their management of the pandemic. What we heard repeatedly were lessons culled from a handful of states that others could follow… Washington state shows larger urban centers can mount an effective defense against the virus with rapid coordination and an early focus on vulnerable populations. “Washington was the tip of the spear,” said one health expert. “They were the first and had to make decisions really fast.” Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, from early on allowed health experts rather than politicians to lead public messaging and guide the state’s response.

► From the Washington Post — Proposal to hasten herd immunity to the coronavirus grabs White House attention but appalls top scientists — A senior administration official told reporters in a background briefing call Monday that the proposed strategy — which has been denounced by other infectious-disease experts and has been called “fringe” and “dangerous” by National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins — supports what has been Trump’s policy for months.

► From the Oregonian — Women in Oregon, nationwide dropping out of workforce due to fallout from pandemic — Thousands of women across the country who have made the difficult choice to leave their jobs during the pandemic as they’ve faced increased challenges balancing work while caring for children or family members.

► From the Washington Post — 24 hours in the life of American workers — Early in the pandemic, the lionizing of hospital and supermarket workers obscured the scores of men and women on different front lines. This is a look at 24 hours in the life of some of those other individuals, on a routine Tuesday in September in a world in which so much remains far from routine.

ELECTION

► From KUOW — Which shade of blue will win Washington state’s 10th congressional district this year? — There’s tension brewing over who should lead the Democratic Party, and what it stands for. That conflict is playing out in the race for Washington’s 10 Congressional District in the Olympia-Tacoma area. It’s one of only two congressional races in the country that pits one Democrat against another this year. State lawmaker and climate activist Beth Doglio is running as the more progressive of the two. She won the endorsements of lefty superstars like Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, who drew huge crowds when they came to town earlier this year.

EDITOR’S NOTE — With a perfect 100% voting record on working families’ issues, Doglio also won the endorsement of the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO.

The Stand (Oct. 5) — Doglio is a tireless champion for workers (by WFSE’s Mike Yestramski)

The Stand (Sept. 15) — A clear choice for workers in the 10th CD (by April Sims and Joe Mizrahi)

► From NBC News — Thousands of Amazon workers demand time off to vote — Thousands of Amazon tech workers Tuesday signed an internal petition urging the company to offer paid time off for its workforce to vote on or before Election Day. While Amazon is the second largest employer in the country, with 1,372,000 U.S. workers including Whole Foods employees, it does not offer paid time off to participate in federal elections.

► From The Onion — ‘Poll watching is not voter intimidation,’ Trump supporter whispers into ear of man filling out ballot in voting booth

LOCAL

► From the Spokesman-Review — Spokane County faces $11 million shortfall in 2021 budget — County commissioners hope to shrink the budget with early retirements, some cuts and potentially dipping into reserves.

► From the (Everett) Herald — Mountlake Terrace-based health insurer Premera cuts 285 jobs — The layoff at Premera Blue Cross, prompted by the economic downturn, represents about 8.3% of its workforce.

AEROSPACE

► From the Seattle Times — Zero new Boeing orders in September as 737 MAX backlog continues to shrink — Neither Boeing nor Airbus booked a single new jet order in September. With airlines still parking many airplanes and demand low for new jets — and with its 737 MAX still grounded — Boeing delivered just 11 airplanes in the month.

SUPREME COURT

► From the NY Times — Supreme Court rules that census count can be cut short — The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed the Trump administration to halt the 2020 census count ahead of schedule, effectively shutting down what has been the most contentious and litigated census in memory and setting the stage for a bitter fight over how to use its numbers for the apportionment of the next Congress.

► From the American Prospect — Judge Barrett’s record of siding with businesses over workers — Even Barrett’s short stint as a judge has yielded a number of revealing opinions that all point to a general bias. As the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law puts it in a report released today on the Barrett record, “she is predisposed to side with law enforcement at the expense of defendants’ constitutional rights, and with employers and business interests in disputes with employees and consumers.” These views have run counter to the civil rights of vulnerable and oppressed people time and again, in ways that suggest that Barrett would be unyieldingly extreme on the Court when it comes to protections for workers, police suspects, and people of color. The implications of some of Barrett’s rulings are truly grave, and whether or not they slow down or derail her confirmation, they should get a full airing in the committee.

► LIVE from the Washington Post — Barrett declines to say whether Trump can pardon himself

► From the Washington Post — Postpone the election? Voter intimidation? Amy Coney Barrett is open to it. (by Dana Milbank) — Thanks to the GOP’s abolition of the filibuster for Supreme Court nominations, Barrett needn’t win over a single Democrat — and she didn’t try. It wouldn’t be surprising if Barrett votes to strike down Obamacare and abortion rights. But is it too much to ask that a Supreme Court nominee would defend the Constitution and federal law from a president who disregards both? Apparently so.

► From the Washington Post — Barrett’s refusal to recuse on the election is disqualifying (by Jennifer Rubin) — The more Barrett and Republicans object to a recusal commitment, the clearer it becomes that one is essential. The adage that no man should be able to pick a judge in his own case has never been more on point.

THAT WASHINGTON

► From The Hill — McConnell to force vote on ‘targeted’ coronavirus relief bill next week — Senate will vote on a “targeted” $500 billion coronavirus relief bill next week that will include more aid for small businesses hit hard by the fallout of the pandemic and corporate immunity from coronavirus-related lawsuits.

► From The Hill — Pelosi, citing ‘leverage’ over Trump, holds strong to $2.2T in COVID-19 aid — Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have been in near-daily talks in search of an elusive stimulus agreement, even as the prospect of a deal before the Nov. 3 elections has grown dimmer by the day… Trump, who has largely remained on the sidelines of the Pelosi-Mnuchin talks, quickly undermined McConnell’s piecemeal approach in urging Congress to tackle a larger deal. “STIMULUS! Go big or go home!!!” Trump tweeted on Tuesday.

► From Politico — McConnell dares Democrats to block ‘targeted’ COVID relief before election — “The American people need Democrats to stop blocking bipartisan funding and let us replenish the PPP before more Americans lose their jobs needlessly,” McConnell said.

EDITOR’S NOTE — And so, after FIVE MONTHS of blocking the House-approved HEROES Act relief bill from getting a vote in the Senate, McConnell demonstrates once again that it’s not about providing actual relief, it’s about politics. This man absolutely does not give one shit about struggling Americans.

► MUST-READ from the Washington Post — Mitch McConnell is laughing at all of us (by Helaine Olen) — We are living through the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression. Millions upon millions of Americans are jobless. Industries ranging from restaurants to entertainment are warning they will go out of business en masse without immediate and substantial government aid. And Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is laughing at our nation’s suffering. The laughter came Monday night, during a debate between McConnell and Amy McGrath, his Democratic challenger for Senate. McGrath castigated McConnell for his lack of action on further economic stimulus and relief for the millions of Americans suffering the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic… McConnell’s response to the economic catastrophe that has resulted from the pandemic is full-on contempt for the suffering and needy. His knowing laugh makes it clear what a continued Republican majority in the Senate means: that Americans will continue to get treated with contempt by politicians who claim to be acting on their behalf.

► From the Washington Post — ‘Unmasking’ probe commissioned by Barr concludes without charges or any public report

NATIONAL

► From Axios — America’s true unemployment rate — A person who is looking for a full-time job that pays a living wage — but who can’t find one — is unemployed. If you accept that definition, the true unemployment rate in the U.S. is a stunning 26.1%, according to an important new dataset shared exclusively with “Axios on HBO.” Why it matters: The official unemployment rate is artificially depressed by excluding people who might be earning only a few dollars a week. It also excludes anybody who has stopped looking for work or is discouraged by a lack of jobs or by the demands of child care during the coronavirus crisis.

► From Reuters — Senator Warren slams Disney for layoffs, executives’ salaries — Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) slammed Walt Disney Co.’s move to lay off 28,000 workers while making shareholder payouts in the years leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic, demanding more information from company executives on the measures. She blasted the entertainment company for the layoffs that came as Disney reportedly restored pay for some executives who had taken cuts due to the pandemic.

INTERNATIONAL

► From Market Watch — Amazon workers strike on busy Prime Day over conditions and pay in Germany — Thousands of workers at seven Amazon fulfillment centers warehouses in Germany went on strike over working conditions and wages during one of the technology giant’s busiest weeks. “Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, employees have been performing at their best, often without adequate protection,” said Orhan Akman, the retail and mail-order chief at the union. “While Amazon boss Jeff Bezos earns billions, the group abolished the allowance of €2 per hour that was granted to employees from March at the end of May.”

The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 10 a.m.