Showing posts with label SUICIDE. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SUICIDE. Show all posts

Sunday, July 14, 2024

Official: Woman is dead after intentionally getting in front of Massachusetts train

 


Official: Woman is dead after intentionally getting in front of Massachusetts train

Published

  

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A woman is dead after an incident Friday afternoon with an MBTA train.

According to Richard Sullivan of the MBTA, at approximately 4:45 p.m., an adult female intentionally entered onto the right of way and was struck by an MBTA Commuter Rail train on the Middleborough/Lakeville Line in Bridgewater.

She has been pronounced deceased as a result of injuries sustained.  

Foul play is not suspected.

Sullivan stated that there would be no further updates and offered condolences.

“On behalf of the Transit Police and the entire MBTA Organization we offer our most sincere condolences to the decedent’s family and friends.”

If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide or in emotional distress, reach out for help:

988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline

Free and confidential emotional support available 24/7

Call or text 988 (Veterans: Press 1, Spanish Line: Press 2)
Chat available on 988lifeline.org/chat
Visit 988lifeline.org for additional information.


Fall River Reporter

Tuesday, November 7, 2023

Mayor, Pastor Dies By Suicide After Being Outed For Cross-Dressing

 


1819 News published unnewsworthy and private photos of Alabama Pastor and Mayor Bubba Copeland. Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian discuss on The Young Turks.


Tuesday, October 11, 2022

Unable to respond: Adam Howe's death raises questions about prisoner, mental health facilities

 

Unable to respond: Adam Howe's death raises questions about prisoner, mental health facilities

Rasheek Tabassum Mujib
Cape Cod Times

Published Oct. 11, 2022 


The death of Truro resident Adam Howe in a New Bedford jail cell as he faced a charge of murder raises questions about the safety net for individuals in the criminal justice system who have psychiatric needs — and what county officials could have done differently.

Howe, 34, was arrested in Truro after emergency workers responded to his mother's home around 9:30 p.m. on Sept. 30, according to the Cape and Islands District Attorney. The rescuers had been called to the property because of a request for a well-being check and a report of a fire. 

At the property, the rescuers found Howe outside the house and something on fire on the lawn, which they determined was a human body. Howe was arrested and charged with murder. Evidence suggested the body was that of his 69-year-old mother, Susan Howe.

After his arrest, Adam Howe had difficulty breathing and was brought to Cape Cod Hospital, arriving around 12:30 a.m. on Oct. 1. He was examined and then shackled to a gurney and watched by hospital personnel "with eyes on him at all times," according to a statement from  Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O'Keefe in a statement.

Truro resident Adam Howe faced a charge of murder after he was found on Sept. 30 in the front yard of a Truro home with a human body that was on fire. Evidence suggested the body was his mother, Susan Howe, according to the Cape and Islands District Attorney's office.

After his release from the hospital, he was brought to Ash Street Jail in New Bedford, part of the Bristol County Jail and House of Correction system. Howe was found dead in his cell at 5:14 p.m. Oct. 2. In between officer rounds at the jail, Howe had clogged his airways with wet toilet paper and "suffered a medical emergency," a spokesperson for the Bristol County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

The cause of Adam Howe's death is under investigation. 

"There are big questions here, as to how the circumstances unfolded, and we need answers," state Sen. Julian Cyr, D-Truro, said. "This is a very tragic incident, and as a geographically isolated community, here at the Cape, we need to make sure that we can respond to all sorts of situations."

"It is clear that we were unable to respond this time," Cyr said.

On-call judge issues an order citing Section 12

Doctors at Cape Cod Hospital wanted Howe discharged as soon as a secure facility was identified to take him, according to O'Keefe.

After multiple efforts to locate an on-call judge, O'Keefe reached a judge at about 3 a.m. "I called at least four judges, and I finally got one who answered the phone," O'Keefe said in a phone interview. 

The judge listened to O'Keefe and the doctor in charge of the Cape Cod Hospital Emergency Room, and ordered Howe to be involuntarily committed to Bridgewater State Hospital, a medium-security facility that provides psychiatric services operated by the state Department of Correction. 

The order was issued citing Section 12, which relates to civil commitments, rather than Section 15, which allows defendants in criminal cases to be hospitalized at Bridgewater — for observation and evaluation — for up to 20 days.

A third option, or Section 18, covers those already detained in a correctional facility and in need of hospitalization for up to six months.

More:Body found on fire outside Truro home, and suspect arrested. What we know

"Only a jail superintendent can have someone committed under Section 18," O'Keefe said. "Since we were at a hospital, a doctor was able to provide the judge all of the criteria necessary for Section 12."

Under the circumstances, it was enough for the judge to issue a Section 12, which could have been changed into Section 15 after an arraignment or Section 18 after Howe was placed in jail, O'Keefe said. 

"We transferred him to a jail so that a jail superintendent could move to have him committed (to Bridgewater) under Section 18," he said.

Bridgewater State Hospital refuses to take Howe

To place Howe in a jail or a secure psychiatric facility, O'Keefe briefed Bridgewater officials about the judge's order. But Bridgewater officials "refused to take Mr. Howe, saying they didn't take Section 12 commitments" and could only admit someone committed under Section 18, according to O'Keefe.

The Bridgewater facility provides clinical services by Wellpath LLC, a Tennessee-based company under contract with the state. 

"We kept asking if they can just take him so he can get the mental health services he needs," O'Keefe said. "They needed just to take him for three days, and then he could have been arraigned to court so that we could file for Section 15."

A frustrated O'Keefe said, "they just wouldn't take him." 

State Sen. Julian Cyr, D-Truro

Cyr, who is co-chair of the Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery, shared O'Keefe's dismay. 

"We have a fine facility like Bridgewater State Hospital in Massachusetts, a secure psychiatric facility to essentially deal with very disturbed individuals involved in the criminal justice system," Cyr said. "The fact that they would rely on a technicality instead of finding a solution speaks to several issues that we have persistently seen at Bridgewater State Hospital." 

Howe gets placed at Ash Street Jail in Bristol County

State police contacted several jails, including Barnstable County, but could not obtain admittance for Howe into any of them. Finally, Bristol County Sheriff's Department agreed to take him and place him in Ash Street Jail. 

Both Howe's discharge summary from the hospital and the police report indicated "suicide ideation," according to O'Keefe's written account. 

At the jail, Howe was placed on a security watch where a corrections officer "would visually check on him every 15 minutes." He was also clothed in a nylon rip-resistant smock, according to the Bristol County Sheriff's Office.

More:Barnstable County Sheriff's race: Buckley and Whelan face off in November general election

The observation level taken by the Bristol County Sheriff's Office at Ash Street on Howe was inadequate, said James Pingeon, litigation director for the prisoner advocacy group Prisoners' Legal Services of Massachusetts. 

"They put him on a 15-minute watch instead of a constant observation; this was clearly a judgment call they made, and it was obviously the wrong judgment call," Pingeon said. 

But Bristol County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Jonathan Darling said otherwise.

Howe was "cleared by medical professionals and in terms of protocol, he was not 'required to be on a watch,'" Darling said

More:Suicide following May shooting death of 20-year-old Falmouth woman now under investigation

More:Exclusive: Three people die in 8 weeks at Barnstable County jail. Here's what we know

"Due to the intensity of the charge he was facing, as it was a high profile case, our staff went out of their way to keep an eye on him," Darling said over the phone. "We didn't need to take any precautions at all, and yet we went above and beyond to place him on a 15-minutes watch."

In similar cases, Bristol County sends people to Bridgewater under Section 18 to get the inmate the proper mental health care services. In Howe's case, he should have been admitted to Bridgewater immediately after he got placed in the Ash Street jail, a delay which eventually cost him his life, Pingeon said. 

Barnstable County Sheriff's Department's late response 

The most logical choice for Howe, after Bridgewater refused to take him, would have been in jail under the Barnstable County Sheriff's department. 

O'Keefe said they tried getting him into jail in Barnstable but "were unable to do so."

"I'm not sure if the state police got through to them, but we were all trying, and I didn't get an answer until 7:30 in the morning when we already found a jail that would take him," O'Keefe said. 

Barnstable Sheriff James M. Cummings said over the phone he doesn't know why there was no response from the jail.

"I don't know what number they were calling, but there is always somebody at the correctional facility," he said. "Later, my superintendent spoke to somebody from the state police about six o'clock in the morning." 

According to Cyr, who was briefed by the state police, the police did make contact with Barnstable, and they declined to take Howe, citing limited staffing. 

Cummings noted that even if Barnstable did respond, his jail no longer operates a regional lockup facility, unlike Bristol County.

If they did, they wouldn't take somebody sick or suicidal because that causes "limited staffing issues," he said.

Barnstable operated the regional lockup facility before the COVID-19 pandemic. But since the sheriff's office moved into a new facility, they no longer provide the regional service, said Cummings who is not running for reelection after 24 years on the job. 

"We've been trying for years to get the regional lockup running again," he said, "but we are unable to get the legislature officials to come up with the necessary funding."  

Cyr said he never heard from the sheriff's office about the budgetary constraints.

"There has been a long-standing dispute between the Legislature and the sheriff about resources and money," Cyr said, "but to my knowledge, there has been no conversation about this problem."

"It's alarming that the sheriff's office did not convey to us that they have these resources constrained," he said. "After such a tragic incident, I have questions about why this 24-hour state facility failed to serve our community." 

If you need help

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a hotline for individuals in crisis or for those looking to help someone else. To speak with a certified listener, call 988.

Crisis Text Line is a texting service for emotional crisis support. To speak with a trained listener, text HELLO to 741741. It is free, available 24/7, and confidential.








Friday, June 24, 2022

States with the most gun violence share one trait

 

States with the most gun violence share one trait


Updated 3:59 PM ET, Thu May 26, 2022




Beto O'Rourke interrupts Gov. Abbott's news conference
Beto O'Rourke interrupts Gov. Abbott's news conference 01:21
A version of this story appeared in CNN's What Matters newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free here.

(CNN)People can debate the need for more or fewer armed guards at American schools, the use of active shooter drills and the wisdom of the idea that maybe even teachers should be packing heat.

But there's one thing that is indisputable in the available data on gun violence -- and the data is limited since until recently the federal government was effectively barred from gathering it.
The indisputable fact is that where there are more guns, there are more gun deaths.
    This is true despite Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's attempt to explain away gun deaths at the elementary school in his state this week by comparing them to gun violence in Chicago.
      "I hate to say this, but there are more people who were shot every weekend in Chicago than there are in schools in Texas," Abbott said on Wednesday, arguing stricter gun laws are not a solution.
        There are indeed a horrific number of gun deaths in Chicago each year. CNN has covered the problem.
        But there are more gun deaths in Texas, by far, than in any other state, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
          Texas suffered 4,164 gun deaths in 2020, the most recent year for which the CDC has published data.
          That's a rate of 14.2 deaths per 100,000 Texans.
          California, by comparison, saw 3,449 deaths, a gun death rate of 8.5.
          Texas does not have the highest gun death rate, however. Far from it.
          The top states by gun death rates are:
          • Mississippi -- 28.6.
          • Louisiana -- 26.3.
          • Wyoming -- 25.9.
          • Missouri -- 23.9.
          • Alabama -- 23.6.
          • Alaska -- 23.5.
          Here's where the lack of good federal data haunts us. It's hard to find solid gun ownership rates. The RAND Corporation, a non-profit research organization, has tried and published data on average gun ownership by state between 2007 and 2016.
          All of those states with the highest gun death rates are among the ones with the highest gun ownership rates.
          • Mississippi -- 50% of adults live in a household with a gun.
          • Louisiana -- 48%.
          • Wyoming -- 59%.
          • Missouri -- 48%.
          • Alabama -- 50%.
          • Alaska -- 59%.
          Where there are fewer guns, there are fewer gun deaths. The states with the lowest gun death rates in 2020, per the CDC (alongside the percentage of homes with a gun in 2007-2016, per RAND) were:
          • Hawaii -- 3.4 (8% of adults live in a household with a gun).
          • Massachusetts -- 3.7 (10%).
          • New Jersey -- 5 (8%).
          • Rhode Island -- 5.1 (11%).
          • New York -- 5.3 (14%).
          The advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety, which endorses stronger gun laws, takes the CDC data on gun deaths per 100,000 residents and puts that alongside each state's gun laws. The states with lower gun violence rates are mostly among the states with the strongest gun laws.
          Conversely, with the exception of Louisiana, the states with the highest gun death rates and highest gun ownership rates are among the states Everytown says have the most lax gun laws.

          Most gun deaths are suicides

          Obviously mass shootings can happen anywhere, as we saw earlier this month in Buffalo, New York, and this week in Uvalde, Texas.
          But most gun deaths do not involve a mass shooting. Most gun deaths are suicides. In 2020, 54% of gun deaths in the US were suicides, which are far less likely to get sustained public attention, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of CDC data.
          CNN wrote in 2019 about the rising suicide rate and a study published in the journal JAMA Network Open that found higher suicide rates in rural areas -- and, in cities, if there was a gun shop in the neighborhood.

          Cities often have higher gun violence rates than states

          Chicago does have a horrifically high murder rate, although the guns there often come from a neighboring state.
          There are higher murder rates in other cities, and they're often in places with more lax gun laws, like Jackson, Mississippi. Read this CNN dispatch about murders in Jackson. It is heartbreaking.
          According to Everytown's analysis of FBI data, the cities with the highest gun homicide rates in 2020 were all in states with lax gun laws:
          • Jackson, Mississippi -- 69 gun homicides per 100,000 people.
          • Gary, Indiana -- 64.
          • St. Louis -- 50.
          • New Orleans -- 48.
          • Memphis, Tennessee -- 47.
          Baltimore, where the gun laws are relatively strict, was next.

          Murder rates rising

          The Covid-19 pandemic has led to a rise in gun violence, and in January, a CNN analysis found 10 of the nation's most populous cities set homicide records last year, mostly because of guns. The cities were: Philadelphia; Austin, Texas; Columbus, Ohio; Indianapolis; Portland, Oregon; Memphis, Tennessee; Louisville, Kentucky; Milwaukee; Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Tucson, Arizona.
          In the large cities hardest hit by gun violence, there are areas that are relatively untouched compared with areas that are under attack, as researchers from the Brookings Institution found in a report published last month.
            In Chicago, they said, gun homicides in 2019 and 2020 were concentrated in neighborhoods far from the city center "that have long suffered from severe disinvestment as a result of white flight, and are now centers of concentrated poverty with predominantly Black residents."
            In other words, it's generations of neglect and division that help drive the murder rate in cities. All these deaths -- rural suicide, urban murder and mass shootings everywhere -- have one thing in common: guns.

            LINK

            Friday, August 14, 2020

            POLITICO NIGHTLY: Covering Biden-Trump in your pajamas

             



             
            POLITICO Nightly: Coronavirus Special Edition

            BY RENUKA RAYASAM AND ELI OKUN

            Presented by

            With help from Myah Ward

            OFF THE TRAIL — Put covering a presidential campaign on the long list of things the pandemic has upended. The campaign reporters who normally spent the years and months leading up to a presidential election on the road — living out of hotels, attending rallies and events and nominating conventions, meeting potential voters and grabbing drinks with campaign staffers — are now trapped in their homes.

            And for the reporters who nabbed a career-making chance to cover their first presidential, it’s been an especially devastating blow.

            “I feel so bad for reporters who are doing this for the first time,” said Peter Baker, chief White House correspondent for The New York Times. “It’s not nearly as fun or exciting as being on the trail. Zoom does not substitute for that.”

            Kat Stafford’s first, and only, out-of-state campaign reporting trip was to Houston for Super Tuesday on March 3. On the flight back to her home in Detroit, she saw a couple wearing masks and wiping down the seats. A week later, Stafford, who joined the Associated Press as a national race and ethnicity writer in late February, began covering the campaign mostly remotely.

            “The trick has been developing sources via Zoom, via phone,” Stafford said.

            Others have gotten stuck even further afield. Anna-Sofia Berner, the U.S. correspondent for Helsingin Sanomat, Finland’s newspaper of record, covered the Democratic presidential primary across America before ending up in Finland for months during the pandemic.

            Lately, “I started feeling like I’m out of touch,” she said. “I don’t know what’s happening in the country.” Berner finally made it back to Washington this past weekend, and hopes to ramp up her coverage — mostly by road trip, for safety reasons.

            Baker’s first experience on a presidential campaign trail was covering Bill Clinton’s four-day train trip to Chicago for the Democratic National Convention in the summer of 1996 for The Washington Post. He remembers Clinton yelling out the window of the train in his Arkansas drawl: “Love your dog!” and “That’s a great satellite dish!” When the train pulled into Lansing, Mich., at 11 p.m. one night, a crowd of 20,000 people were waiting for him.

            The observations reporters can normally make on the campaign trail — how people respond to a candidate’s message, how the candidate deals with heckling, where they stumble when they deliver the same speech over and over again, whether there’s enthusiasm around a certain campaign, how the candidate interacts with voters — have been lost this year, Baker said. “Now we’re all watching from the outside.”

            Bo Erickson, who was assigned in 2019 to cover the Biden campaign for CBS News, followed the former vice president after the South Carolina primary, when for 12 days he traveled through 11 states, drawing huge, energetic crowds. Then the shutdowns hit and Erickson went back to his apartment in Washington, D.C., where he reports live from his living room.

            It’s become more of a challenge breaking news or catching candidates off guard, he said. “It’s much easier to ignore a reporter’s calls than it is to ignore them in a gym somewhere in America.”

            Yet the campaign trail — at least for those who experienced it from inside candidate caravans — should not be sentimentalized. It always had an element of manipulation and make-believe.

            The New York Times’ Astead Herndon has racked up some datelines during the pandemic. And some of the failures of campaign journalism — under-covering marginalized communities, regurgitating candidate statements, mistaking Twitter for the world — aren’t limited to remote reporting, he said.

            Just look at the coverage of the pre-pandemic Democratic primary for evidence of that.

            Read more about how campaign reporters are trying to cover the 2020 election remotely — and whether it makes their jobs harder or easier — from Eli and John F. Harris.

            Welcome to POLITICO Nightly: Coronavirus Special Edition. Operation Warp Speed has a logo now. Reach out rrayasam@politico.com or on Twitter at @renurayasam.

             

            A message from PhRMA:

            America’s biopharmaceutical companies are sharing manufacturing capabilities with each other so that once a treatment or vaccine is ready, they can get it to millions of people fast. And there’s no slowing down. America’s biopharmaceutical companies will continue working day and night until they beat coronavirus. More.

             

            Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee former Vice President Joe Biden and his running mate Sen. Kamala Harris attend a coronavirus briefing at a makeshift studio at the Hotel DuPont on Aug. 13, 2020 in Wilmington, Delaware. Harris is the first Black woman and first person of Indian descent to be a presumptive nominee on a presidential ticket by a major party in U.S. history.

            Biden and Harris attended a coronavirus briefing today at a makeshift studio at the Hotel DuPont in Wilmington, Del. | Drew Angerer/Getty Images

            FIRST IN NIGHTLY

            THE STAY-AT-HOME CONVENTION — The Republican National Convention is coming to D.C. — and to government property, White House correspondent Anita Kumar writes.

            The Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium, a grand historic federal building located close to the Trump International Hotel, will serve as a “central hub” for speeches, according to two people familiar with the plans. The convention could also spread out across federal properties both in and around Washington. President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence are expected to deliver their acceptance speeches on federal property — perhaps even the White House — as the Republicans scramble to rework the event following a resurgence of the coronavirus.

            The unusual arrangement is already drawing ethical concerns that federal resources will be used for campaign events and that administration officials will violate the law by campaigning for the president on government property. And it’s not lost on Trump critics that the president’s flagship hotel, already a gathering spot for Republicans, will be conveniently located a short walk from the Mellon Auditorium.

            More than 300 delegates will still gather in Charlotte, N.C., the official host city of the Republican National Convention, on the first day to officially nominate Trump for president. But most other in-person activities will be held in Washington, including some of the four nights of prime-time speeches, according to the two people. Trump abruptly canceled last month the events that had been moved to Jacksonville, Fla., as the state grapples with a surge in infections.

            Social distancing guidelines in the nation’s capital currently limit gatherings to 50 people. Federal buildings are exempt from the restrictions but a person familiar with the plans said no large gatherings are expected. “There will be no large crowds or audiences at Mellon Auditorium,” the person said.

            Trump said today that he plans to deliver his acceptance speech on the fourth and final night of the convention from the White House, though some aides had pushed him to choose another location. “It’s a place that makes me feel good. It makes the country feel good,” Trump told the New York Post in an interview.

            For his acceptance speech, Pence is considering Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Md., best known as the site of a major battle in the War of 1812, The Washington Post reported . His office didn’t respond to questions.

            FROM THE HEALTH DESK

            THE MESS IN TEXAS — More than one in five Texans who are tested for coronavirus are positive, the worst statewide rate in the country. But the number of people getting tests has plummeted in the last two weeks, which could understate how widespread the virus really is as schools reopen and hospitalizations and deaths remain near record highs, health care reporter Dan Goldberg writes.

            That's left Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in a tough spot, forced to make decisions about reopening his state based on incomplete and possibly faulty data. Abbott said today he's instructed his administration to figure out which numbers can be trusted, why positive tests have doubled this month and what the trends could signal as Labor Day approaches and students start filling classrooms.

             

            PLUG IN WITH PLAYBOOK AT THE DNC : Join POLITICO Playbook Co-authors Anna Palmer and Jake Sherman from Aug. 18 to 20 for "Plug in with Playbook," our new political show making its virtual debut at this year's conventions. Get the latest developments on presumptive nominee Joe Biden's campaign, analysis of down-ballot races, a look at this cycle’s swing states, along with other election-related updates. Featured guests include DNC chair Tom Perez, convention CEO Joe Solmonese, Biden campaign senior adviser Symone Sanders, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and others. REGISTER HERE.

             
             
            AROUND THE NATION

            6.4% — The states reporting the highest per capita rates of Covid-19 cases among Black Americans have smaller Black populations, graphics reporter Annette Choi writes. South Dakota — which has a Black population of about 16,000 — has the highest per capita rate of Covid-19 cases for Black residents in the country at 6.4 percent. A close second to South Dakota is Maine with a rate of 5.7 percent.

            Annette Choi | POLITICO

            Annette Choi | POLITICO

            PALACE INTRIGUE

            MAIL STOP — Trump suggested today that he opposes Democratic efforts to fund the U.S Postal Service because he wants to curtail mail-in voting before the November election. Democrats have proposed spending $25 billion on the Postal Service as part of a Covid relief package. “Now they need that money in order to have the Post Office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots,” Trump said.

            Your host spoke with politics editor Scott Bland today about Trump’s comments. This conversation has been edited.

            Are you surprised by what Trump said? Some have described it as saying “the quiet part out loud.”

            Yes, because I'm still adjusting to the idea that there was a quiet part before this, if that makes sense. We’ve been talking for months about how big a role mail balloting was going to have to play in the 2020 general election. The idea that the Postal Service potentially wouldn't be able to handle it is a fairly recent development — and that being a result of policy changes by Trump appointees and, as Trump said, a lack of new funding, is pretty remarkable.

            What can states do if the USPS funding is blocked?

            There are things that election officials and Democrats can try to do to ameliorate postal problems. We just don't know how effective they will be. And it's not just the money, it's also potential internal USPS policy changes that could cause election-shifting results if they delay the delivery of ballots.

            Some states are adding more things like secure drop-boxes where people can drop off mail ballots without actually sending them through the mail. There’s already a big push starting to get people to cast their votes early. And, there’s the hope, I suppose, that fears about huge delays in the mail won’t come to pass — but that's a tough one to pin hopes on, because in many states if your ballot doesn't arrive by Election Day, it won't count. In some states, what’s called “ballot harvesting” is also allowed. Organizations can collect people’s sealed ballots and turn those in for them.

            Why is Trump opposed to mail-in voting?

            Trump doesn’t seem to actually have anything against mail balloting, except that it seems in this election to be something that’s important to Democrats. He recently tweeted urging people to vote by mail in Florida, where the state Republican Party happens to have a very robust and long-term vote by mail program — which, I'm sure, was in danger because Trump has now convinced a number of rank-and-file Republicans that voting by mail is bad.

             

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            COVID-2020

            MASK NOT WHAT YOUR COUNTRY CAN DO FOR YOU — Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris today called for every governor to mandate mask-wearing in public for at least the next three months, citing studies that say it would save more than 40,000 lives and speed the nation’s economic recovery, health care reporter Alice Miranda Ollstein writes.

            Biden did not say whether he would implement a national mask mandate if elected and, if so, how it would be enforced. For the moment, he called on all governors to impose such policies. Currently, only 35 states require masks in public, though many individual cities and counties have their own mandates in the remaining states.

            KAMALACARE — In the latest episode of POLITICO Dispatch, health care reporter Dan Diamond breaks down how Kamala Harris’ past positions on health care could provide some fresh fodder for Trump attacks, while also sparking new passion among progressives.

            Play audio

            Listen to today's POLITICO Dispatch

            FOUR SQUARE

            THE ZOOM PANEL — Eugene Daniels, Tim Alberta, Ryan Lizza and Elena Schneider talk about the most important thing Democrats need to do next week at their convention, on the latest episode of Four Square.

            Courtesy of POLITICO

             

            BECOME A CHINA WATCHER: Mounting concerns over foreign interference are casting a shadow on the U.S. election this fall. Are concerns that Beijing might seek to influence the results valid? Join the conversation and gain expert insight from informed and influential voices in government, business, law, tech and academia. China Watcher is as much a platform as it is a newsletter. Subscribe today.

             
             
            ASK THE AUDIENCE

            Nightly asks you: How has the pandemic changed your relationship to sports? Do you think it will permanently change how much you watch sports and attend live games when the pandemic ends? Let us know your thoughts, and we’ll include select answers in our Friday edition.

            NIGHTLY NUMBER

            25.5 percent

            The proportion of young adults between 18 and 24 who say they’ve considered suicide in the past month because of the pandemic, according to new CDC data.

            (For help, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline can be reached at 1-800-273-8255.)

            PARTING WORDS

            RAISING KAINE — Americans are “uniquely bad” at electing women to office, Tim Kaine, Hillary Clinton’s running mate, tells Jennifer Palmieri in a preview of the next episode of Showtime’s “The Circus” shared exclusively with Nightly. The series is returning from pandemic hiatus this Sunday with a show devoted to Biden’s pick of Harris for veep.

            “The worst part of 2016 for me was a front row center seat in the just the misogyny event of the century,” Kaine tells Palmieri, Hillary Clinton’s communications director, in an outdoor interview. “The absence of a woman president, the absence of a woman vice president, is not just an accident.”

            Courtesy of POLITICO

             

            A message from PhRMA:

            America’s biopharmaceutical companies are sharing their knowledge and resources more than ever before to speed up the development of new medicines to fight COVID-19. They’re working with doctors and hospitals on over 1,100 clinical trials.

            And there’s no slowing down. America’s biopharmaceutical companies will continue working day and night until they beat coronavirus. Because science is how we get back to normal.

            See how biopharmaceutical companies are working together to get people what they need during this pandemic.

             

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            Top News | 'He’s Not Going to Run Unopposed': Sanders Rejects Schumer for Majority Leader

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