More than 1,000 people were told to evacuate their homes when a wildfire ignited in the foothills west of Denver Monday, Colorado Public Radio reported.
<p><br/></p>
<p>The Elephant Butte Fire sparked in Evergreen, Colorado around 2:30 p.m., <a href="https://kdvr.com/news/local/elephant-butte-fire-in-evergreen-what-we-know/" target="_blank">KDVR reported</a>. As of Tuesday morning, it had spread to 50 acres and was zero percent contained, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office tweeted.</p>
<div id="ee717" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c382c3bf5156f3c108c5b46303ead1d1"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1283030707460354051" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Day 2 Update on the #ElephantButteFire Fire is still at 50 acres in size with zero containment. No evacuation order… https://t.co/1BF7UMdl6f</div> — Jeffco Sheriff (@Jeffco Sheriff)<a href="https://twitter.com/jeffcosheriffco/statuses/1283030707460354051">1594733332.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>One of the families forced to evacuate Monday told <a href="https://denver.cbslocal.com/2020/07/13/elephant-butte-fire-lincoln-family/" target="_blank">CBS4</a> the land they fled had been in the family for 100 years.</p><p>"It's completely made out of wood. It's a 104-year-old house. I've lived there all my life," teenager Aidan Lincoln told CBS4. "It's been there since before my dad was born. It means a lot to my family."</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Right now we’re at 700 homes evacuated in the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ElephantButte?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ElephantButte</a> fire in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Evergreen?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Evergreen</a>. I talked with a 17 year old who was in tears believing his family home has gone up.<br>Latest on <a href="https://twitter.com/CBSDenver?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CBSDenver</a> <a href="https://t.co/EAhaVawPN4">pic.twitter.com/EAhaVawPN4</a></p>— Alan Gionet (@AlanGTV) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlanGTV/status/1282824359397208067?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 13, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>Lincoln feared the family home had caught fire, but the sheriff's office says no homes have been lost. Fire officials also said no one had been injured as of 6:30 p.m. Monday, <a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2020/07/13/evergreen-wildfire-elephant-butte-fire/" target="_blank">The Denver Post reported</a>.</p><p>The fire is burning in the Upper Bear Creek Road and Overlook Trail area, according to Evergreen Fire Rescue. The evacuation area initially covered a five-mile radius and around 250 homes but was later increased to cover around 1,000 homes. The Elk Meadow and Alderfer/Three Sisters parks were also both closed because of the blaze.</p>
<div id="e2b09" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e665c6f540754d83a6eb94ba8f6e04fa"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1282818933762875393" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Elk Meadow and Alderfer/Three Sisters Parks are both CLOSED due to the #elephantbuttefire #jeffco @efr_co https://t.co/nyHki32PjB</div> — Jeffco Sheriff (@Jeffco Sheriff)<a href="https://twitter.com/jeffcosheriffco/statuses/1282818933762875393">1594682842.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>There were more than 100 people fighting the fire Monday and at least three air tankers and several helicopters, Colorado Public Radio reported.</p>
<div id="ab90e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d20a60932bf9aa3d5c9336d1c31edb57"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1282863366071914496" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Though these images were taken about an hour ago, they give you a different perspective of what the… https://t.co/Rcvn7TtlCQ</div> — Jeffco Sheriff (@Jeffco Sheriff)<a href="https://twitter.com/jeffcosheriffco/statuses/1282863366071914496">1594693435.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Monday's weather made battling the flames more difficult. Firefighters on the ground had to pause in their efforts a little before 7 p.m. Monday because of lightning in the area, and wind pushed the fire up into the treetops of one ridge. There was a little rainfall, but it proved disappointing.</p><p>"Unfortunately the rain didn't help as much as we hoped," the sheriff's office wrote on Twitter, as Colorado Public Radio reported.</p><p>Conditions are expected to be more favorable Tuesday because of a cold front, KDVR reported.</p><p>The immediate cause of the fire is under investigation, according to The Denver Post. However, the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate crisis</a> has helped to increase the size and frequency of wildfires in the Western U.S. Of the more than 40,000 fires that burned from Colorado to California between 1950 and 2017, 61 percent ignited in the last two decades, according to the <a href="https://climate.nasa.gov/blog/2830/six-trends-to-know-about-fire-season-in-the-western-us/" target="_blank">National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)</a>. At the same time, global temperatures have gotten hotter, encouraging ideal fire conditions like high temperatures and dry air.</p><p>"Those fire conditions all fall under weather and climate," NASA Langley Research Center wildfire expert Amber Soja said. "The weather will change as Earth warms, and we're seeing that happen."</p><p>Before the Elephant Butte Fire ignited, Jefferson County had implemented a burn ban because of hot, dry weather, Colorado Public Radio reported.</p>
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California Walks Back Reopening as Coronavirus Cases and Hospitalizations Surge
12h
Health + Wellness
People enjoy outdoor dining along Pier Ave. in Hermosa Beach, California on July 8, 2020. Keith Birmingham / MediaNews Group / Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images
California is reversing its reopening plans amidst a surge in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations.
<p>Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday that businesses like restaurants, wineries, movie theaters, cardrooms, zoos and museums must no longer welcome people inside and bars must close altogether, <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/07/13/890602390/california-closes-indoor-businesses-statewide-as-covid-19-cases-surge" target="_blank">NPR reported</a>. In addition, gyms, places of worship, hair and nail salons, malls and non-essential offices must close in 29 counties representing 80 percent of the state's population, <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-07-13/newsom-california-county-rollback-reopening-coronavirus" target="_blank">the Los Angeles Times reported</a>.</p><p>"We're going back into modification mode of our original stay at home order," Newsom said, as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/13/world/coronavirus-updates.html#link-1acfaa7f" target="_blank">The New York Times reported</a>. "This continues to be a deadly disease."</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">NEW: <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/COVID19?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#COVID19</a> cases continue to spread at alarming rates.<br> <br>CA is now closing indoor operations STATEWIDE for:<br><br>-Restaurants<br>-Wineries<br>-Movie theaters, family entertainment<br>-Zoos, museums<br>-Cardrooms<br><br>Bars must close ALL operations.</p>— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) <a href="https://twitter.com/GavinNewsom/status/1282752861835649024?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 13, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>The news comes as coronavirus infections have been rising in about 40 of 50 U.S. states, according to <a href="https://uk.mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUKKCN24E23E" target="_blank">Reuters</a>. California has emerged as one of the epicenters of the U.S. outbreak, along with Arizona, Florida and Texas. As of Sunday, California has been averaging more than 8,000 new cases a day, more than two times its daily average last month, The New York Times reported. In total California has seen 331,626 cases, the second highest caseload in the nation, according to New York Times figures. More than 7,000 Californians have died of the new disease.</p><p>California began its reopening process in early May and saw cases begin to rise in June, mostly due to a surge in Los Angeles County, <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/07/13/890602390/california-closes-indoor-businesses-statewide-as-covid-19-cases-surge" target="_blank">NPR </a>reported. Newsom first responded by <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/california-face-masks-mandatory-2646207535.html" target="_self">requiring face masks in public</a> from June 18 and then by shuttering bars and other indoor venues in 19 counties July 1.</p>
<p>Newsom said his decision Monday was informed by a rise in hospitalizations, people in intensive care units (ICUs) and the rate of positive test results. Over the last two weeks, the number of people hospitalized has increased 27.8 percent while the number of people in the ICU has increased 19.9 percent, state hospitals said Monday.</p><p>"We're seeing an increase in the spread of the virus, so that's why it's incumbent upon all of us to recognize soberly that COVID-19 is not going away any time soon until there is a vaccine or an effective therapy," Newsom said Monday, as the Los Angeles Times reported.</p><p>Counties currently subject to increased restrictions include some of the state's most populous.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">NEW: As <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/COVID19?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#COVID19</a> cases and hospitalizations continue to rise, 30 counties will now be required to CLOSE INDOOR OPERATIONS for:<br><br>-Fitness Centers<br>-Places of Worship<br>-Offices for Non-Critical Sectors<br>-Personal Care Services<br>-Hair Salons and Barbershops<br>-Malls</p>— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) <a href="https://twitter.com/GavinNewsom/status/1282753656983449600?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 13, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>Counties are added to a watch list if they see rising hospitalizations, community spread or decreasing hospital capacity for three days in a row. The idea is for counties to be added or removed from the list as local conditions change, allowing the state to flexibly adjust restrictions like a "dimmer switch," Newsom explained. But some business owners found the constant readjustments hard to cope with.</p><p>"Everyone is frustrated with the on/off switch in their personal and professional lives," Los Angeles-based public affairs firm President Fiona Hutton told the Los Angeles Times.</p>
<p>Still, some California businesses and localities have voluntarily adopted restrictions, NPR pointed out. Disney said it would keep its Southern California parks closed for the foreseeable future, and the public school districts of Los Angeles and San Diego said Monday they would start the year entirely remotely.</p><p>This puts them at odds with the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/trump-administration" target="_self">Trump administration</a>, which has pushed for schools nationwide to open as normal in the fall.</p><p>"Schools should be opened," President <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/donald-trump" target="_self">Donald Trump</a> said in response, as The New York Times reported. "You're losing a lot of lives by keeping things closed."</p><p>The Times noted it is unclear what Trump meant because the virus tends to spread in poorly-ventilated, indoor areas like schools, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/public-health" target="_self">public health</a> experts have said.</p><p>The Los Angeles teachers union, meanwhile, applauded its district's decision.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Full statement👉🏼<a href="https://t.co/QKrhYxAZLK">https://t.co/QKrhYxAZLK</a> <a href="https://t.co/MXkvkRBnzC">pic.twitter.com/MXkvkRBnzC</a></p>— United Teachers Los Angeles (@UTLAnow) <a href="https://twitter.com/UTLAnow/status/1282780635359133696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 13, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>"In the face of the alarming spike in COVID cases, the lack of necessary funding from the government to open schools safely and the outsized threat of death faced by working-class communities of color, there really is no other choice that doesn't put thousands of lives at risk," United Teachers Los Angeles said in a statement reported by Reuters.</p>
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EcoWatch Daily Newsletter
A protest against the name of the Washington Redskins in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Nov. 2, 2014. Fibonacci Blue / CC BY 2.0
The Washington Redskins will retire their controversial name and logo, the National Football League (NFL) team announced Monday.
<p>The decision follows a review of the name and logo that the team <a href="https://mobile.twitter.com/Redskins/status/1279092759052398592" target="_blank">announced July 3</a> "in light of recent events around our country."</p><p>"Today, we are announcing we will be retiring the Redskins name and logo upon completion of this review," the team said in a statement.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vbWVkaWEucmJsLm1zL2ltYWdlP3U9JTJGbWVkaWElMkZFY3p0TmdCV0FBQTVXRl8uanBnJTNBbWVkaXVtJmhvPWh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGcGJzLnR3aW1nLmNvbSZzPTEwMDYmaD01YzQzMGNiZDI5ZDY4MTAyZWFiNGExM2M0OTExMDM4ZDdiMmFiNzk3ZGY4MTA5ZmM0YTBiY2Y4NzA3MGMyNDU2JnNpemU9OTgweCZjPTM5OTU2ODk3NTkiLCJleHBpcmVzX2F0IjoxNjMwMTM2OTg4fQ.YgodhwGfPgtLqye6G6kOJ-n5NtdkmedcHTjK730PwJc/img.jpg" id="dca13" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9c1d93c5c08249b98780571ea279d7b1" />
<p>The announcement comes as a swift and sudden reversal from team owner Dan Snyder. In 2013, he told USA TODAY to "put it in all caps" that he would never change the name, <a href="https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/29454868/washington-nfl-team-says-retire-redskins-name-logo" target="_blank">ESPN reported</a>. But then came the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/protestors-publich-health-coronavirus-covid-19-testing-2646141562.html" target="_self">massive protests</a> following the police murder of George Floyd, which prompted a nationwide reckoning over racial justice. A few weeks later, multiple sources said Snyder had been discussing the team's name with the NFL for weeks.</p><p>The team also faced increased corporate and activist pressure. Eighty-seven investors and shareholders signed a letter to team sponsors FedEx, PepsiCo and Nike asking them to stop doing business with the team until the name was changed. All three responded with statements saying they had told the team to change its name, and FedEx said it would take its name off the stadium if this did not happen.</p>
<p>When the team announced it was considering a change, activist group <a href="https://www.changethemascot.org/" target="_blank">Change The Mascot</a> urged it to abandon the name immediately.</p><p>"There is no reason not to immediately announce that the team is changing the mascot, since any real review will lead to the inevitable conclusion that the deeply offensive and racist name of Washington's NFL team must go now," Change the Mascot leader Ray Halbritter said in a press release. "Team owner Dan Snyder can stand on the right side of history and create a new, positive legacy for his team, or instead continue embracing a bigoted slur that denigrates Native Americans and people of color."</p>
<p>The team has not yet announced a new name or logo, but ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that it would no longer use Native American imagery.</p><p>"Dan Snyder and Coach [Ron] Rivera are working closely to develop a new name and design approach that will enhance the standing of our proud, tradition-rich franchise and inspire our sponsors, fans and community for the next 100 years," the team said Monday.</p><p>The team has used the Redskins name for 87 years and the logo was designed by a Native American in 1971.</p>
<p>While the change was precipitated by recent protests, the movement to end the use of Native American imagery for names and mascots began in the 1970s, <a href="https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/retired-washington-nfl-team-leaves-racist-name-behind-pa0kLXIJ70uvMgEntv-xag" target="_blank">Indian Country Today reported</a>. Native American groups have targeted the Redskins name specifically for decades, and a recent UC Berkeley study found that 67 percent of respondents who strongly identified as <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/indigenous" target="_self">Indigenous</a> thought the name was offensive.</p><p>While hundreds of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/maine-bans-native-american-mascots-2637401197.html" target="_self">universities and schools</a> have retired Native mascots in recent years, professional sports teams like the Kansas City Chiefs, the Atlanta Braves and the Cleveland Indians have resisted, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/13/sports/football/washington-redskins-new-name.html" target="_blank">The New York Times pointed out</a>.</p><p>But activists vowed to keep fighting.</p><p>"Dear @Braves, @Chiefs, @NHLBlackhawks: The target on your backs just got much larger," the group Not Your Mascot tweeted.</p>
<div id="70d0a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6ca68952828cd7d57b80238aacaed935"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1282681032379174915" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Dear @Braves, @Chiefs, @NHLBlackhawks:
The target on your backs just got much larger.
Sincerely:
Everyone</div> — Not Your Mascot (@Not Your Mascot)<a href="https://twitter.com/NotYourMascot/statuses/1282681032379174915">1594649963.0</a></blockquote></div>
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People visit Jacksonville Beach on July 4, 2020 in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. Public health experts have attributed Florida's growing coronavirus caseload to people gathering in crowds. Sam Greenwood / Getty Images
Florida broke the national record for the most new coronavirus cases reported in a single day on Sunday, with a total of 15,299.
<p>Florida's Sunday caseload was more than any European country reported during the height of the outbreak there, <a href="https://uk.mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUKKCN24D0I3" target="_blank">Reuters reported</a>.</p><p>"If Florida were a country, it would rank fourth in the world for the most new cases in a day behind the United States, Brazil and India," Reuters wrote.</p>
<div id="95919" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6609e6cc487787d5a8cd3e218c318409"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1282344989419278336" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">MAY 20: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantisFL) brags coronavirus outbreak “hasn’t happened.”
JULY 12: Florida… https://t.co/PPHEMo2twh</div> — Keith Boykin (@Keith Boykin)<a href="https://twitter.com/keithboykin/statuses/1282344989419278336">1594569844.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>It also reported more new cases than did New York when it was the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak. Sources are divided on the previous U.S. record. <a href="https://apnews.com/798f9aab3bb2e5fbf733413a99476d7c" target="_blank">The Associated Press reported</a> that California held the previous record with 11,694 new cases on Wednesday, while before the record went to New York with 11,571 on April 15. Reuters, meanwhile, gave the previous record to New York with 12,847 new cases on April 10; <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/12/us/florida-coronavirus-covid-cases.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a> also reported it was held by New York, but with 12,274 new cases April 4. But in any case, the record is an alarming milestone for the Sunshine State with real consequences for its hospitals.</p><p>"It has just been horrifically busy," University of South Florida infectious disease professor John Toney told The New York Times. "It's reminiscent of what everyone dealt with in New York. It's certainly putting a strain on a lot of the systems, even though hospitals are trying to accommodate."</p>
<p>Florida's record comes amidst a surge in cases nationwide and globally. Almost 40 states are seeing cases increase, and the U.S. broke world records by reporting around 60,000 new cases a day for the last four days, Reuters reported. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization reported a record of more than 230,000 new cases total Sunday, according to a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/12/world/coronavirus-updates.html" target="_blank">New York Times update</a>. The previous global record was set Friday, with more than 228,000 new cases.</p><p>Public health experts have attributed Florida's growing caseload to people gathering in crowds and moving around once the state began reopening.</p><p>"Bottom line is, more people are mobile and they're not necessarily taking the precautions we think would help," Dr. Marissa Levine, a professor at the University of South Florida College of Public Health, told The New York Times.</p>
<p>University of Florida epidemiologist Dr. Cindy Prins also attributed the spread to people gathering in crowds, gyms and some restaurants, as well as reports of illegal raves and clubs in South Florida.</p><p>"I really do think we could control this, and it's the human element that is so critical. It should be an effort of our country. We should be pulling together when we're in a crisis, and we're definitely not doing it," she told The Associated Press. "I know people want to live their lives. There have been a lot of other times, people have made those sacrifices in order to benefit our society. It's almost like a war effort. That's what we need right now."</p><p>Instead, the state is largely persisting with reopening efforts, which began in early May, <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/07/12/890216415/florida-smashes-u-s-state-record-of-daily-new-cases-more-than-15-200?utm_term=nprnews&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=npr&utm_medium=social" target="_blank">according to NPR</a>. Two of Disney World's parks reopened Saturday, and the other two are scheduled to reopen Wednesday. Schools have also been ordered to reopen for in-person classes in August.</p><p>"We know there are huge, huge costs for not providing the availability of in-person schooling," Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said, according to The Associated Press. "The risk of corona, fortunately, for students is incredibly low."</p>
<p>The outbreak in Florida is in some ways easier to manage than the outbreak in New York in April, The New York Times pointed out. Some of the increase in caseload is down to increased testing, and hospitals are better supplied and prepared to treat the disease. The state's death rate is also well below New York's at the outbreak's peak there.</p><p>However, daily death totals began rising in the state last week, The Associated Press reported. Health experts predicted this would be the case, since death rates tend to lag behind infection rates by two to four weeks. Florida reported 514 fatalities for this week, an average of 73 per day. It averaged 30 per day three weeks ago.</p><p>The U.S. as a whole reported a seven-day death average of 700 Saturday, up from 471 July 5, but still below the more than 2,200 daily deaths it averaged in mid-April, according to The New York Times.</p><p>Overall, the new coronavirus has sickened 269,811 people in Florida and killed 4,242, the state health department reported.</p>
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In Major Win for Indigenous Rights, Supreme Court Rules Much of Eastern Oklahoma Is Still a Reservation
10 July
Popular
Much of Eastern Oklahoma, including most of Tulsa, remains an Indian reservation, the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday. JustTulsa / CC BY 2.0
Much of Eastern Oklahoma, including most of Tulsa, remains an Indian reservation, the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday.
<p>The 5-4 decision, which <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/09/us/supreme-court-oklahoma-mcgirt-creek-nation.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a> said was possibly the biggest legal victory for <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/indigenous" target="_self">Indigenous</a> Americans in decades, affirmed that lands granted to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation by Congress in the 19th century remained theirs after Oklahoma became a state.</p><p>"This is a historic day," Principal Muscogee (Creek) Chief David Hill told The New York Times. "This is amazing. It's never too late to make things right."</p>
<div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f63eb4faa6017a480e24169ba2528989"><div class="fb-post" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/mmiwusa/photos/a.1020336344743907/2906138969496959/?type=3&theater"></div></div>
<p>The decision comes after a long and painful history of forced removals and broken treaties endured by Native Americans at the hands of the U.S. government. The land in what is now Oklahoma was granted to the Creek in the first place following their forced relocation from their homes in Georgia and Alabama in the 1830s. This is something that Justice Neil Gorsuch acknowledged in writing the majority opinion.</p><p>"On the far end of the Trail of Tears was a promise," he wrote.</p><p>Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan joined him in the majority, while Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the minority opinion, according to the <a href="https://www.scotusblog.com/2020/07/opinion-analysis-justices-toe-hard-line-in-affirming-reservation-status-for-eastern-oklahoma/" target="_blank">SCOTUS blog</a>.</p>
<p>The case that led to the ruling, <em>McGirt v. Oklahoma</em>, involved a Seminole man named Jimcy McGirt who was convicted of sex crimes against a child on Creek land, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/07/09/889562040/supreme-court-rules-that-about-half-of-oklahoma-is-indian-land" target="_blank">NPR explained</a>. After he was convicted, he argued that his case should be retried in federal court because the state court lacked jurisdiction: Congress had never disbanded the Creek reservation, so the tribe retained sovereignty, according to NPR and The New York Times.</p><p>The Supreme Court agreed.</p><p>"When our tribes were removed west of the Mississippi, to what is now Oklahoma, we were promised that this land would be ours for as long as the grass grew and the waters ran. That commitment from the United States was more than just a promise — it was the law. For more than a century, Oklahoma ignored the law and stepped on our treaty rights. Today, the Supreme Court said no more," Cherokee Nation citizen Rebecca Nagle said in an article published by <a href="https://medium.com/@IndigenousRising/on-the-far-end-of-the-trail-of-tears-was-a-promise-4bc9cef058ce" target="_blank">Indigenous Rising Media</a>.</p>
<div id="0f5a4" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="2cde7da40389e37d787d22e434a5d64d"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1281525996697587713" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Today the US Supreme Court effectively ruled a portion of Oklahoma is indeed Indian Territory. It is a great day to… https://t.co/HCV7gXXnTu</div> — Indigenous Environmental Network (@Indigenous Environmental Network)<a href="https://twitter.com/IENearth/statuses/1281525996697587713">1594374581.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>The ruling has two main implications, according to NPR.</p><ol><li>Native Americans accused of major crimes committed on reservation land will now be tried in federal court, while those accused of minor offenses will be tried in tribal courts.</li><li>Native Americans tried and convicted by the state of Oklahoma in the past will have grounds to challenge these convictions.</li></ol><p>The decision impacts the Muscogee (Creek) and four other nations with similar treaties: the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw and Seminole.</p><p>In his minority opinion, Roberts worried this would lead to confusion for the state's criminal justice system.</p><p>"The state's ability to prosecute serious crimes will be hobbled and decades of past convictions could well be thrown out," Roberts wrote, according to The New York Times. "On top of that, the court has profoundly destabilized the governance of eastern Oklahoma."</p>
<p>However, United States Attorneys for the Northern, Eastern and Western Districts of Oklahoma said they were confident they could handle the new arrangement.</p><p>"As Oklahoma's United States Attorneys, we are confident tribal, state, local, and federal law enforcement will work together to continue providing exceptional public safety under this new ruling by the United States Supreme Court," they said in a statement reported by <a href="https://www.mvskokemedia.com/2020/07/09/scotus-opinion-upholds-tribal-treaties-promises/" target="_blank">Mvskoke Media</a>.</p><p>There is also a chance the ruling could impact <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oil-and-gas" target="_self">oil and gas</a> operations in Eastern Oklahoma, <a href="https://www.eenews.net/energywire/stories/1063536563" target="_blank">E&E News explained</a>. That's because those operations will now be taking place on federal land, rather than state land, and could be subject to tougher regulations.</p><p>"The status of land is a really big point in determining who has regulatory authority, and that's why it has broad implications," Elizabeth Kronk Warner, dean of the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah, told E&E News. "Anytime there is oil and gas development on federal land, you have to go through the federal government to get your permitting and everything, and that's true for development in Indian Country."</p>
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A Starbucks employee in a mask and face shield at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, on May 12, 2020. ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images
Anyone entering a U.S. Starbucks from July 15 will have to wear a face mask, the company announced Thursday.
<p>The policy comes as U.S. <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coronavirus" target="_self">coronavirus</a> cases continue to surge, with the country breaking its record for new cases Thursday for the sixth time in 10 days, with more than 59,880 new cases reported, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/09/world/coronavirus-updates.html?action=click&campaign_id=51&context=storylines_menu&emc=edit_MBE_p_20200710&instance_id=20192&module=styln-coronavirus-national&nl=morning-briefing&pgtype=Article&regi_id=88631294&region=TOP_BANNER&section=topNews&segment_id=33060&state=default&te=1&user_id=d8eb7cee9d3c5ab39515239b6ec54d19&variant=show#link-18813319" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>.</p><p>"The company is committed to playing a constructive role in supporting health and government officials as they work to mitigate the spread of COVID-19," Starbucks said in its statement.</p>
<div id="f82a0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f287b23a56ac56afd28e138cb3e56855"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1281260862250967040" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Our priority is the health and well-being of our partners (employees) and customers. Starting July 15, U.S. company… https://t.co/IhGagY6f2z</div> — Starbucks News (@Starbucks News)<a href="https://twitter.com/StarbucksNews/statuses/1281260862250967040">1594311368.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Other companies that require customers to wear masks include Costco and Uber, according to <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/07/09/starbucks-require-face-masks-customers-starting-july-15/5406037002/" target="_blank">USA TODAY</a>. Around 20 states and Washington, DC already require masks in public places, but other states, including hotspots like Arizona and Florida, do not, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/09/business/starbucks-face-coverings-masks/index.html" target="_blank">CNN reported</a>.</p><p>In those states, Starbucks customers who chose not to wear masks can order their coffee at the drive-thru, use curbside pickup through the Starbucks app or have orders delivered by Starbucks Delivers, the company said.</p>
<p>Starbucks has required employees to wear masks since April, according to CNN. But masks are most effective at preventing wearers from spreading the virus to others, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/cloth-face-cover-guidance.html" target="_blank">according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)</a>, meaning the more people who wear one, the more everyone is protected.</p><p>"Cloth face coverings are most likely to reduce the spread of COVID-19 when they are widely used by people in public settings," the CDC wrote.</p><p>One study of households in Beijing where one person was infected with the virus found that if everyone in the home wore a mask before they knew anyone was sick, it reduced the risk of transmission by 79 percent, according to <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/06/21/880832213/yes-wearing-masks-helps-heres-why" target="_blank">NPR</a>. And a model found that if 80 percent of people wore masks, it would be more effective at combating COVID-19 than a lockdown, <a href="https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2020/06/417906/still-confused-about-masks-heres-science-behind-how-face-masks-prevent" target="_blank">University of California San Francisco explained</a>.</p>
<p>But mask requirements have led to conflicts in retail settings. One confrontation at a Starbucks went the other kind of viral, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/starbucks-face-masks-required-customers-july-15/" target="_blank">CBS News reported</a>. When San Diego yoga instructor Amber Lynn Gilles was asked to wear a mask at a local Starbucks in accordance with county rules, she took to Facebook to complain. The act backfired. She was widely criticized, and a GoFundMe for the barista who asked her to mask up, Lenin Gutierrez, raised more than $100,000.</p><p>Reactions by angry customers at other retail establishments have prompted the Retail Industry Leaders Association to write a letter to the the National Governors Association urging states to require masks across the board, as <a href="https://eu.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/07/07/mask-mandates-retailers-ask-governors-require-masks-immediately/5391045002/" target="_blank">USA TODAY reported Wednesday</a>.</p><p>The retail body, which represents large chains including Walmart, Target, Best Buy, Walgreens and Home Depot, said that the current patchwork of state and local mask rules had led to confusion, which increased employee-customer confrontations.</p><p>"Retailers are alarmed with the instances of hostility and violence front-line employees are experiencing by a vocal minority of customers who are under the misguided impression that wearing a mask is a violation of their civil liberties," retail association President Brian Dodge wrote in the letter.</p>
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Supporters cheer before Trump arrives for a rally at the BOK Center on June 20, 2020 in Tulsa, OK. Jabin Botsford / The Washington Post via Getty Images
On Monday and Tuesday of the week that President Donald Trump held his first rally since March in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the county reported 76 and 96 new coronavirus cases respectively, according to POLITICO. This week, the county broke its new case record Monday with 261 cases and reported a further 206 cases on Tuesday. Now, Tulsa's top public health official thinks the rally and counterprotest "likely contributed" to the surge.
<p>"The past two days we've had almost 500 cases, and we know we had several large events a little over two weeks ago, which is about right," Tulsa Health Department Dr. Bruce Dart said in a press conference Wednesday, as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/08/us/politics/coronavirus-tulsa-trump-rally.html#referrer=https://www.google.com" target="_blank">The New York Times reported</a>. "So I guess we just connect the dots."</p>
<div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="dce63f86a91daa2c577e22980bb7c3ad"><div class="fb-video" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1931137487193380" data-allowfullscreen="true"></div></div>
<p>Trump held his rally June 20, and it can take about two weeks for an increased infection rate to show up in new case tallies because of the disease's incubation period.</p><p>Trump's rally made headlines in mid-June when it was revealed that, in order to attend, rally goers had to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-rally-coronavirus-risk-2646170476.html" target="_self">agree not to sue</a> the campaign if they contracted COVID-19. Dart had urged the campaign to cancel the rally before it took place.</p><p>"It's the perfect storm of potential over-the-top disease transmission," Dart said, as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/16/us/politics/trump-coronavirus-rally.html" target="_blank">The New York Times reported at the time</a>. "It's a perfect storm that we can't afford to have."</p>
<p>Administration and campaign officials pushed back on the idea that the rally had led to a surge in cases. White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said she had "no data to indicate" this was the case, as <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/amp/Politics/trump-rally-contributed-surge-covd-19-cases-tulsa/story?id=71680180" target="_blank">ABC News reported</a>.</p><p>And campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh defended the rally's safety precautions.</p><p>"There were literally no health precautions to speak of as thousands looted, rioted, and protested in the streets and the media reported that it did not lead to a rise in coronavirus cases. Meanwhile, the President's rally was 18 days ago, all attendees had their temperature checked, everyone was provided a mask, and there was plenty of hand sanitizer available for all. It's obvious that the media's concern about large gatherings begins and ends with Trump rallies," he said in a widely reported statement.</p><p>While the campaign did conduct temperature checks and distribute masks and hand sanitizer, it did not enforce social distancing inside the arena and most participants did not wear masks, ABC News pointed out.</p>
<p>The rally was much smaller than anticipated, however. Around 6,200 people from across the country attended, but the venue, the BOK Center arena, can seat 19,000, POLITICO reported.</p><p>Tulsa county contract tracers could not confirm whether they had linked any specific cases to the rally because the Tulsa Health Department "will not publicly identify any individual or facility at risk of exposure, or where transmission occurred," spokesperson Leanne Stephens said, according to The New York Times.</p><p>One sign that does point to the rally as an infection source is the fact that cases have increased in rural parts of Oklahoma, Tulsa county commissioner Karen Keith told The New York Times.</p><p>Some high-profile people have tested positive for COVID-19 after attending the rally, ABC reported, including former 2012 presidential candidate Herman Cain and national chair of the Trump Victory Finance Committee Kimberly Guilfoyle. At least eight Trump campaign staffers in Tulsa have also tested positive, and two of them attended the event.</p>
<p>Tulsa is not the only part of Oklahoma seeing a surge in cases. The entire state reported 858 new cases Tuesday and 673 Wednesday.</p><p>"We continue to go up and are at a new peak," lead COVID-19 officer at the University of Oklahoma Dr. Dale Bratzler told ABC News Monday.</p><p>The next Trump rally is scheduled to take place in Portsmouth, New Hampshire Saturday. Once again, attendees will have to promise not to sue if they fall ill. They will have their temperatures checked and be offered masks and hand sanitizer, but mask wearing and social distancing will not be required.</p>
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Yellowstone Grizzlies Win Reprieve From Trophy Hunt as Court Restores Endangered Species Protections
09 July
Animals
A grizzly bear sow with cub in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. Danita Delimont / Gallo Images / Getty Images Plus
Grizzly bears in Wyoming and Idaho won't be subject to a trophy hunt thanks to a federal court decision Wednesday upholding endangered species protections for these iconic animals.
<p>The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/grizzly-bears-yellowstone-endangered-species-2607784220.html" target="_self">2018 decision</a> from the Montana District Court reinstating protections for Yellowstone area grizzly bears after the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/trump-administration" target="_self">Trump administration</a><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/grizzly-bears-yellowstone-2446382005.html" target="_self"> stripped them of protections</a> in 2017. Wyoming and Idaho then announced plans to hunt the animals for the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/grizzly-bear-hunt-wyoming-2571671329.html" target="_self">first time in more than 40 years</a>.</p><p>"This is a tremendous victory for all who cherish Yellowstone's grizzly bears and for those who've worked to ensure they're protected under the Endangered Species Act," <a href="https://biologicaldiversity.org/" target="_blank">Center for Biological Diversity</a> (CBD) attorney Andrea Zaccardi <a href="https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/appeals-court-victory-maintains-protections-yellowstone-grizzlies-2020-07-08/" target="_blank">said in a press release</a>. "Grizzlies still have a long way to go before recovery. Hunting these beautiful animals around America's most treasured <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/national-parks" target="_self">national park</a> should never again be an option."</p>
<div id="a1a10" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="dd14d33bb684f0237ea63e050dd997da"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1280956331550261258" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">The 9th Circuit just upheld a 2018 federal ruling that the Trump administration violated the Endangered Species Act… https://t.co/0AzXqRTLrO</div> — Center for Bio Div (@Center for Bio Div)<a href="https://twitter.com/CenterForBioDiv/statuses/1280956331550261258">1594238763.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>CBD joined the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, the <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/" target="_blank">Sierra Club</a> and the <a href="https://www.npca.org/" target="_blank">National Parks Conservation Association</a> in suing to reinstate protections for the bears. The plaintiffs were represented by <a href="https://earthjustice.org/" target="_blank">Earthjustice</a>, according to a <a href="https://earthjustice.org/news/press/2020/9th-circuit-upholds-endangered-species-protections-for-yellowstone-grizzlies" target="_blank">press release</a>.</p><p>The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services delisted Yellowstone area grizzlies in 2017, in a decision that impacted around 700 bears in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana, according to <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/506446-court-upholds-protections-for-yellowstone-grizzly-bears" target="_blank">The Hill</a>. Those who supported the move said that the bears' population as well as successful <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation" target="_self">conservation</a> efforts and state policies justified the move. Then Idaho and Wyoming said they would allow up to 23 bears to be hunted and killed outside of Yellowstone National Park, according to CBD.</p><p>But the Montana court ruled that the FWS did not consider the impact of delisting on a remnant population and did not use the best available <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/science/" target="_self">science</a> when making its decision, according to <a href="https://www.courthousenews.com/grizzlies-saved-ninth-circuit-stops-yellowstone-trophy-hunt/amp/" target="_blank">Courthouse News Service</a>, and the Ninth Circuit agreed.</p>
<p>Specifically, the court found that FWS did not take into account how delisting and trophy hunting would impact the genetic diversity of Yellowstone grizzlies.</p><p>"Because the 2017 rule's conclusion that genetic health no longer poses a threat to the Yellowstone grizzly is without scientific basis, this conclusion is arbitrary and capricious," U.S. Circuit Judge Mary Schroeder wrote.</p><p>The court ordered the FWS to reconsider its decision with a view towards how delisting would impact a remnant population and genetic diversity.</p><p>"The importance of this court ruling for the grizzly bears found in our most iconic national parks cannot be overstated," Northern Rockies Associate Director for the National Parks Conservation Association Stephanie Adams said in the Earthjustice press release. "This decision sets the stage for practical, science-based and on-the-ground collaboration to ensure a healthy future for grizzlies in Grand Teton, Yellowstone and beyond. And now, communities can continue their work to create opportunities to safely connect the grizzly bears of Yellowstone and Glacier."</p>
<div id="a6f0e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f7e4ff4c6e38a577c6285e8596d17696"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1280967734965264386" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">VICTORY: Today, a circuit court upheld the district court's opinion reinstating Endangered Species Act protections… https://t.co/wtdOhUcOiF</div> — National Parks Conservation Association (@National Parks Conservation Association)<a href="https://twitter.com/NPCA/statuses/1280967734965264386">1594241481.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Not everyone was happy with the decision, however.</p><p>"Wyoming — not an activist court — should determine how the bear is managed. The state has a strong, science-based management plan and it should be given a chance to succeed," Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said in a statement reported by The Hill.</p><p>FWS did not return requests for comment from either The Hill or Courthouse News Service.</p><p>Grizzly bears once roamed across North America and the Western U.S., but now mostly live in Alaska. Of around 55,000 total U.S. bears, 1,500 live in the lower 48 states, most of them in the Yellowstone area, according to Courthouse News Service.</p>
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Trending
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro meets Ronaldo Caiado, governor of the state of Goiás on June 5, 2020. Palácio do Planalto / CC BY 2.0
Far-right Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who has presided over the world's second worst coronavirus outbreak after the U.S., said Tuesday that he had tested positive for the virus.
<p>The news comes after Bolsonaro has repeatedly dismissed the risk posed by the virus both to himself and others and argued against social distancing measures as a threat to the economy.</p><p>"In my particular case, because of my history as an athlete, in case I were contaminated by the virus I wouldn't need to worry. I wouldn't feel anything or it would be, at most, similar to a little flu, or a little cold," he said during a national television address March 24, as <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/ap-explains-bolsonaro-downplayed-virus-fears-months-71663418" target="_blank">The Associated Press reported</a>.</p>
<p>His approach has earned him protests at home and worldwide criticism for allowing the virus to spread in his country, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/07/world/americas/brazil-bolsonaro-coronavirus.html?auth=login-googl" target="_blank">The New York Times reported</a>. He fired one health minister in April over disagreements about how to respond to the pandemic and forced a second to quit less than a month later. The current health minister is an active-duty general with no medical experience. Brazil has now reported more than 1.6 million confirmed cases and more than 65,000 deaths, falling second only to the U.S. in both categories.</p><p>Bolsonaro took a test for the virus Monday after falling ill with fatigue, muscle pain and a fever. His illness occurred two days after he attended a Fourth of July lunch at the home of Brazil's U.S. Ambassador Todd Chapman, where Bolsonaro and other attendees were pictured sitting side by side without masks. The ambassador and his wife have since tested negative for the virus but are remaining in quarantine.</p>
<div id="30022" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9e5f6f78f46c6841b83cc759e8840506"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1279475037574176768" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Na Embaixada dos EUA, celebrando o 4 de julho, dia da independência americana. https://t.co/CqtgUNxiSL</div> — Ernesto Araújo (@Ernesto Araújo)<a href="https://twitter.com/ernestofaraujo/statuses/1279475037574176768">1593885595.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>So far, Bolsonaro's diagnosis has not changed his tone. As he announced his test results, he continued to focus on the importance of reopening Brazil's economy.</p><p>"You can't just talk about the consequences of the virus that you have to worry about. Life goes on. Brazil needs to produce. You need to get the economy in gear,″ he said, according to The Associated Press.</p><p>He was also widely criticized on social media for taking off his mask while speaking to reporters about his diagnosis, <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/trending/trending-globally/brazilian-president-takes-off-mask-after-announcing-he-tested-positive-for-covid-19-6495517/" target="_blank">The Indian Express reported</a>.</p>
<div id="4ed4f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="512bc5e4d7e023188c02f9b493b51c16"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1280543922331123713" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Bolsonaro, who has tested positive for coronavirus, just exposed every journalist to the virus, in case you were wo… https://t.co/cuTpNEwiMd</div> — Brian Tyler Cohen (@Brian Tyler Cohen)<a href="https://twitter.com/briantylercohen/statuses/1280543922331123713">1594140437.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Bolsonaro is an ally of U.S. President <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/donald-trump" target="_self">Donald Trump</a>, <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/07/07/888137097/brazilian-president-jair-bolsonaro-tests-positive-for-coronavirus" target="_blank">NPR reported</a>, who has also been <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/us-coronavirus-death-toll-2646357716.html" target="_self">criticized</a> for dismissing the severity of the pandemic. Like Trump, Bolsonaro has touted the benefits of hydroxychloroquine for treating the coronavirus, an anti-malaria drug that the Food and Drug Administration <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/coronavirus-malaria-drugs-2646183392.html" target="_self">has warned</a> against taking for COVID-19.</p><p>But Bolsonaro said his medical team was treating him with the drug on Tuesday and that he was feeling "very well," according to The New York Times.</p><p>Politicians and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/public-health" target="_self">public health</a> experts said that Bolsonaro's diagnosis was unlikely to change Brazil's approach to the virus unless he grew seriously ill. The country is currently in the process of reopening.</p>
<p>"My concern is that he will use this to say, 'See, I'm fine, if you catch this you will survive,'" Rio de Janeiro community activist Day Medeiros told The New York Times. "Everything that happens to him has real repercussions in how people behave here. This is really serious."</p><p>But one analyst thought the diagnosis would ultimately harm Bolsoarno's political career.</p><p>"Despite publicly shrugging off his positive test for Covid-19, it marks the beginning of the end of his administration," Robert Muggah, director of Rio-based think tank the Igarape Institute, told <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/08/coronavirus-bolsonaros-diagnosis-marks-beginning-of-the-end-for-his-administration.html" target="_blank">CNBC in an email</a>. "It is yet another visible expression of his recklessness and ineptitude."</p>
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‘Among the Most Ruinous Presidential Decisions in Recent History’: Trump Begins WHO Withdrawal
08 July
Health + Wellness
Trump sits during a meeting about safely reopening schools during the coronavirus pandemic on July 7, 2020, in Washington, DC. JIM WATSON / AFP via Getty Images
The Trump administration began the formal process of withdrawing from the World Health Organization (WHO), a White House official said Tuesday, even as coronavirus cases continue to surge in the country.
<p>President <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/donald-trump" target="_self">Donald Trump</a> first began attacking the WHO's handling of the new coronavirus in April, when he made the decision to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-who-funding-coronavirus-2645722550.html" target="_self">halt funding</a>. But <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/public-health" target="_self">public health</a> experts and Congresspeople from both sides of the aisle say leaving the organization will make Americans, and people around the world, less safe in the midst of a pandemic that has sickened more than 11 million people and killed more than 544,000, according to Wednesday morning <a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html" target="_blank">figures from Johns Hopkins University</a>.</p><p>Lawrence Gostin, who directs the WHO's Collaborating Center on National & Global Health Law, said the withdrawal was "among the most ruinous presidential decisions in recent history," according to a statement reported by <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/07/world/coronavirus-updates.html?smtyp=cur&smid=fb-#link-7536f61f" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>.</p><p>"It will make Americans less safe during an unprecedented global health crisis," Gostin, who cosigned a <a href="https://oneill.law.georgetown.edu/letter-to-congress-on-who-withdrawal-from-public-health-law-and-international-relations-leaders/" target="_blank">letter</a> to Congress from 750 health and legal experts opposing withdrawal, said. "And it will significantly weaken U.S. influence on W.H.O. reform and international health diplomacy."</p>
<div id="9153d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="2369a1a33aa73794a885ae5aaa19ad92"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1280600975867289601" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Thread explains why US w/drawal from @WHO is unlawful & unethical, among most ruinous presidential decisions in his… https://t.co/BK4SsmPARP</div> — Lawrence Gostin (@Lawrence Gostin)<a href="https://twitter.com/LawrenceGostin/statuses/1280600975867289601">1594154039.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Trump first announced he would pull the U.S. from the organization May 29, arguing that it had responded too slowly to the pandemic and was under the "total control" of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/china" target="_self">China</a>, <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/07/07/888186158/trump-sets-date-to-end-who-membership-over-its-handling-of-virus" target="_blank">NPR reported</a>. But the organization issued its first warning about the new virus Jan. 4, just five days after the first announcement from local health authorities in Wuhan, China, The New York Times pointed out. It had completed a detailed report by the next day.</p><p>In order to withdraw from the WHO, the U.S. must pay any unpaid dues — which stood at $198 million as of June 30 — and give a year's notice, NPR explained. The UN confirmed to reporters that it had received that notice and was checking with the WHO if all the conditions for withdrawal had been met.</p><p>"On 6 July 2020, the United States of America notified the Secretary-General ... of its withdrawal from the World Health Organization, effective on 6 July 2021," UN Secretary-General António Guterres's spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric wrote in an email to reporters.</p>
<p>The yearlong delay means the withdrawal might not go into effect at all if Trump loses to Democratic rival and former Vice President <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/joe-biden" target="_self">Joe Biden</a> in November's Presidential election.</p><p>"Americans are safer when America is engaged in strengthening global health," Biden tweeted in response to the news. "On my first day as President, I will rejoin the<a href="https://twitter.com/WHO" target="_blank"> @WHO</a> and restore our leadership on the world stage."</p>
<div id="bb485" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="eb75831d048b6be5b5be8d58a106cd3e"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1280603719831359489" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Americans are safer when America is engaged in strengthening global health. On my first day as President, I will re… https://t.co/qNgyOKHOlE</div> — Joe Biden (@Joe Biden)<a href="https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/statuses/1280603719831359489">1594154693.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>But it isn't only Democrats speaking out against Trump's withdrawal.</p><p>"I disagree with the president's decision," Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said in a statement reported by <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-administration-gives-formal-notice-withdrawal-who-n1233100" target="_blank">NBC News</a>. "Certainly there needs to be a good, hard look at mistakes the World Health Organization might have made in connection with coronavirus, but the time to do that is after the crisis has been dealt with, not in the middle of it. Withdrawing U.S. membership could, among other things, interfere with clinical trials that are essential to the development of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/vaccines" target="_self">vaccines</a>, which citizens of the United States as well as others in the world need. And withdrawing could make it harder to work with other countries to stop viruses before they get to the United States."</p><p>Public health experts agreed with Alexander's assessment of the risk. In their letter to Congress, the 750 health and legal experts wrote that, by leaving the organization, the U.S. would lose access to the WHO's system for sharing data and vaccines. The U.S. also contributes more funds than anywhere else to the WHO's Health Emergencies Program, which means withdrawal will cost the whole world funds for contact tracing and vaccine development.</p><p>The U.S. historically has contributed around 15 percent of the WHO's overall budget, or $450 million a year. Beyond COVID-19, that money helps fund programs fighting health concerns like polio, malnutrition, HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.</p><p>"Pulling funding could reverse hard-won progress and erode the ability of the U.S. to shape and lead policy," the letter writers said.</p>
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Refrigerated trucks function as temporary morgues at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal on May 06, 2020 in New York City. As of July, the states where COVID-19 cases are rising are mostly in the West and South. Justin Heiman / Getty Images
The official number of people in the U.S. who have lost their lives to the new coronavirus has now passed 130,000, according to tallies from The New York Times, Reuters and Johns Hopkins University.
<p>The grim news comes amidst a surge in U.S. cases. <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/coronavirus-cases-us-2646324392.html" target="_self">More than 50,000</a> new cases a day were reported several times over the past week, The New York Times pointed out. And the country still has the world's worst outbreak with nearly three million cases, double the world's second-highest caseload in <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/brazil" target="_self">Brazil</a>, Reuters reported.</p><p>In an interview streamed Monday with National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Dr. Francis Collins, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci said the U.S. had never successfully exited the first wave of the pandemic.</p><p>"I would say this would not be considered a wave," Dr. Fauci said, as The New York Times reported. "It was a surge, or a resurgence of infections superimposed upon a baseline that really never got down to where we wanted to go."</p>
<div id="12c0d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a04ea6b6f3c7247987a538fb52521a0d"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1280207832512466945" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">https://t.co/MjUNsLdMXN</div> — NIH (@NIH)<a href="https://twitter.com/NIH/statuses/1280207832512466945">1594060307.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>In the interview, Fauci said the surge could perhaps be attributed to cities and states reopening too soon.</p><p>"The European Union as an entity, it went up and then came down to baseline," Fauci said, <a href="https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/07/06/anthony-fauci-us-coronavirus-surge-really-not-good/5388472002/" target="_blank">according to USA TODAY</a>. "Now they're having little blips, as you might expect, as they try to reopen. We went up, never came down to baseline, and now it's surging back up. So it's a serious situation that we have to address immediately."</p><p>At least 32 states are reporting higher rates of new cases this week compared to last, according to Johns Hopkins data reported by USA TODAY.</p><p>The states where cases are rising are mostly in the West and South, according to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-trends-graphic-idUSKBN2472PZ?utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A+Trending+Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR1NBZZ_Vv5bv5ozfxVZzZrw47Ma_U3AOJfBjCa0CRJ9e0taYOiovQqKXeM" target="_blank">Reuters</a>, while cases continue to fall in the Northeast.</p>
<p>Arizona surpassed 100,000 cases Monday, according to New York Times data, and cases there have doubled in the past two and a half weeks. Both Idaho and Texas broke records for the most new cases reported in a single day Monday, at more than 400 and more than 8,800 new cases respectively.</p><p>"The situation is that we are experiencing rampant community spread," chief Dallas County elected official Clay Jenkins tweeted.</p>
<div id="83d55" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="eeaabe613386ceea4e2ed191f16b77d5"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1279885904623079425" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">.@DCHHS reports 1,062 cases. Today we are fortunate to report no new deaths; however, we do have over 1,000 new cas… https://t.co/FMefsIWFx6</div> — Clay Jenkins (@Clay Jenkins)<a href="https://twitter.com/JudgeClayJ/statuses/1279885904623079425">1593983553.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Despite Monday's grim milestone of 130,000 deaths, the rate of increase of deaths in the country has continued to decline, Reuters reported. However, a surge in deaths can come weeks or even months after a surge in cases, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/public-health" target="_self">public health</a> experts said. And at least five states have seen their death rates rise, including Arizona, which reported 449 deaths in the last two weeks of June compared to 259 in the first two weeks. As of July 3, intensive care units in the state were at 91 percent capacity, an all-time high, <a href="https://apnews.com/46a23bcf72b624dc25d7703dc269c727" target="_blank">The Associated Press reported</a>.</p><p>The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) predicts that the U.S. death toll will climb to between 140,000 and 160,000 by July 25, according to Reuters. It further projects that deaths will rise in Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.</p>
<p>The surge in cases has drawn critical attention to President <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/donald-trump" target="_self">Donald Trump</a>'s handling of the crisis. Throughout the pandemic, he has made misleading statements about the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/coronavirus-infections-trump-2645393552.html" target="_self">risks</a> of the new disease and the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-coronavirus-medicine-science-2645823308.html" target="_self">effectiveness of various treatments</a>. During a speech on the Fourth of July, he said that 99 percent of COVID-19 cases were "totally harmless," as USA TODAY reported.</p><p>New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo called the president out for the statement on Monday.</p><p>"He is facilitating the virus," Cuomo said, as <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/506019-cuomo-trump-enabling-the-virus" target="_blank">The Hill reported</a>. "He is enabling the virus by statements like that. And you're seeing the infection rate go up, and you're seeing the economy suffer, and he is part of that current debacle that we are in."</p>
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<p>To fight the surge in cases, Fauci urged Americans to keep up the social distancing, since new outbreaks had been linked to large indoor gatherings.</p><p>"Avoid crowds," he said, as The New York Times reported. "If you're going to have a social function, maybe a single couple or two — do it outside if you're going to do it. Those are fundamental, and everybody can do that right now."</p>
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