PG&E pleads guilty to 84 deaths in 2018 California wildfire

CORPORATIONS ARE PERSONS UNDER US LAW, SO WHICH PERSON IS GOING TO JAIL? 

MICAEL LIEDTKE,Associated Press•June 15, 2020



1 / 10

California Wildfires Utility
FILE - In this Feb. 7, 2019, file photo, Christina Taft, the daughter of Camp Fire victim Victoria Taft, displays a collage of photos of her mother, at the burned out ruins of the Paradise, Calif., home where she died in 2018. Pacific Gas & Electric officials are to be expected to appear in court Tuesday, June 16, 2020, to plead guilty for the deadly wildfire that nearly wiped out the Northern California town of Paradise in 2018. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)
More


SAN RAMON, Calif. (AP) — Pacific Gas & Electric confessed Tuesday to killing 84 people in a devastating 2018 wildfire that wiped out the Northern California town of Paradise in November 2018.

PG&E CEO Bill Johnson entered guilty pleas on behalf of the company for 84 felony counts of involuntary manslaughter stemming from the fire, which was blamed on the company’s crumbling electrical grid.

“Our equipment started that fire," said Johnson, who apologized directly to the victims' families. ”PG&E will never forget the Camp Fire and all that it took away from the region.”

Although the admission was part of a plea deal, it came during a dramatic court hearing designed to publicly shame the nation’s largest utility for neglecting its infrastructure.

Butte County Superior Court Judge Michael Deems read the name of each victim aloud in the courtroom while the images of the dead were shown on large screen as Johnson entered a plea for each of the counts. The fire killed 85 people, but prosecutors weren’t certain they could prove PG&E was responsible for one of the deaths.

Johnson also pleaded guilty on behalf of the company to one felony county of unlawfully starting a fire.

Later Tuesday, Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey is expected to release a long-awaited grand jury indictment detailing the corporate misconduct that ignited the November 2018 wildfire that destroyed Paradise, California, located about 170 miles (275 kilometers) northeast of San Francisco.

PG&E has agreed to pay a maximum fine of $3.5 million for its crimes in addition to $500,000 for the cost of the investigation. The San Francisco company won’t be placed on criminal probation, unlike what happened after its natural gas lines blew up a neighborhood in San Bruno, California, killing eight people in 2010. That tragedy resulted in a criminal conviction that put San Francisco on a five-year probation that ends in January 2022.

With no prospect of jail time for a corporation, Ramsey tried to use Tuesday’s hearing to force PG&E to confront the death and destruction stemming from its its corporate culture of placing a greater priority on profits for its shareholders than protecting the safety of the 16 million Northern Californians who rely on the utility for power.

PG&E is hoping to emerge from its nearly year-and-half-long bankruptcy. The company has agreed to pay $25.5 billion for losses from the 2018 fire and other blazes in 2017 blamed on its crumbling equipment. The company says it has already made changes that will create a more reliable and safer electrical grid, although it still expects to rely on deliberate power outages during the next few years to minimize the risks of causing more fires. More than 20 family members of people killed in the 2018 wildfire are expected to appear before Deems in a proceeding Wednesday.

The proceeding unfolded as PG&E approaches the end of a complicated bankruptcy case that the company used to work out $25.5 billion in settlements to pay for the damages from the fire and others that torched wide swaths of Northern California and killed dozens of others in 2017. The bankruptcy deals include $13.5 billion earmarked for wildfire victims. A federal judge plans to approve or reject PG&E’s plan for getting out of bankruptcy by June 30.

“We want this to be impactful because this can't go on any longer," Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey told The Associated Press. “There is going to have to be a sea change in PG&E's method of operation."

The judge will formally sentence PG&E on Thursday or Friday, according to Ramsey. The plea agreement also spares PG&E from being placed on criminal probation for a second time. The company is in the midst of a five-year probation under the withering supervision of U.S. District Judge William Alsup for a 2010 explosion in its natural gas lines that blew up a neighborhood in San Bruno and killed eight people. The probation lasts until January 2022.

Since filing for bankruptcy early last year, PG&E says it has been dramatically altering a corporate culture that prioritized profits for its shareholders over the safety of the 16 million people who rely on the utility.

The company says it is being more vigilant about trimming trees around its power lines and replacing outdated equipment before it crumbles, although Alsup has repeatedly scolded PG&E for not doing even more to ensure its grid doesn’t cause more tragedy. As part of a deal with California power regulators, PG&E will replace 11 of its 14 board members. CEO Bill Johnson will step down June 30.

Despite PG&E’s pledge, critics fear more danger looms during an upcoming wildfire season after an unusually dry winter in Northern California.

The court hearing was streamed online.




PG&E pleads guilty to manslaughter charges from Camp Fire

PG&E raises fresh debt as it works toward bankruptcy exit

Bond financing comes as Fed eases criteria for corporate bond purchases through index program

Published: June 16, 2020 By Joy Wiltermuth

PG&E crews work to restore power in fire-damaged Santa Rosa, Calif., in October 2017. GETTY IMAGES

Email icon
Facebook icon
Twitter icon
Linkedin icon
Flipboard icon
Print icon
Resize icon

Referenced Symbols
PCG
-0.27% TMUBMUSD10Y
0.749% DJIA
+2.04%


Pacific Gas and Electric Co. completed an $8.925 billion debt deal on Tuesday to help finance the company as it emerges from bankruptcy.

The six-part bond deal, rated Baa3 by Moody’s and BBB- by S&P, is part of a larger $59 billion turnaround plan for the California power utility, which is gearing up to leave Chapter 11 with more debt than it entered bankruptcy with, in part to help pay billions of dollars’ worth of fire-related claims.


The new debt deal comes on the same day that a bankruptcy judge in San Francisco said he planned to greenlight the company’s reorganization plan and as PG&E’s chief executive pleaded guilty on behalf of the company to killing 84 people in the 2018 wildfire that wiped out the Northern California town of Paradise.
“I am here today on behalf of the 23,000 men and women of PG&E, to accept responsibility for the fire here that took so many lives and changed these communities forever,” said Bill Johnson, PG&E’s PCG, -0.27% CEO. “Our equipment started the fire that destroyed the towns of Paradise and Concow and severely burned Magalia and other parts of Butte County.”


S&P Global, a credit-ratings firm, this week said that PG&E is expected to emerge from bankruptcy with about $38 billion of debt, most of which will be backed by a first mortgage, but that it also owes $25.5 billion in wildfire settlements.

The new debt financing benefited from a further rally in corporate credit this week, after the Federal Reserve on Monday tweaked terms of its $750 billion emergency corporate lending facilities to further ease the flow of credit to big U.S. businesses.

Credit conditions briefly weakened last week on fears of rising COVID 19 infections and hospitalizations in some U.S. states.

But borrowing conditions improved Monday, after the Fed said it would start purchasing individual corporate bonds in the secondary market that mature in five years or less, through an index format. The Fed also clarified that bonds purchased through its index program will not require certification, a formal process that shows a company isn’t insolvent, but also lacks adequate access to credit at prices that reflect a “normal, well-functioning” market]

It is unclear if PG&E’s shorter-dated bonds would fit the Fed’s expanded purchase criteria. PG&E did not respond to requests for comment. The corporate lending facility is set to expire in late September, unless the it is extended.

For PG&E’s part, the utility on Tuesday sold its shortest $2.5 billion parcel of two-year bonds at a spread of 155 basis points over Treasurys, a yield of 1.753%.

That’s roughly a savings of 45 basis points from where initial pricing levels were circulated on Tuesday morning, according to a person with direct knowledge of the dealings.

Its longest $1.925 billion slug of 30-year bonds, due in 2050, cleared the market at 200 basis points over Treasurys to yield 3.534%. The initial spread level was in the 262.50 basis points area over Treasurys.

Spreads are the level of compensation investors are paid over a risk-free benchmark, like Treasury TMUBMUSD10Y, 0.749% notes.

Lower spreads can indicate high demand for a bond deal and can also point to a more bullish market tone. U.S. stocks extended their gains for a third day in a row on Tuesday, including the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +2.04%, which ended more than 500 points higher.

‘We’re still in a first wave,’ Fauci says, noting precautions can prevent second wave of coronavirus

Infectious-disease expert says he hasn’t talked to Trump in two weeks

Published: June 16, 2020 By Mike Murphy

Dr. Anthony Fauci speaks alongside Vice President Mike Pence at the White House on April 1. AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday that he hasn’t spoken to President Donald Trump in weeks, and warned that America is still not through the first wave of coronavirus cases.

“People keep talking about a second wave. We’re still in a first wave.”— Dr. Anthony Fauci

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Fauci, the government’s top infectious-disease expert, said that risky behavior as states reopen their economies is likely leading to a resurgence in COVID-19 cases.

“When I look at the TV and I see pictures of people congregating at bars when the location they are indicates they shouldn’t be doing that, that’s very risky,” he said.

While the White House has dismissed the increase in coronavirus cases as a result of more widespread testing, Fauci told the Journal that, in many states, the upswing in new cases “cannot be explained by increased testing.”

In a separate interview Tuesday with NPRs “1A” podcast, Fauci, who is a member of the White House coronavirus task force, said he hasn’t talked to Trump in two weeks. While the task force has not been in the public spotlight as much recently, he said hard work is still being done. “The seriousness with which the task force takes and the effort that we put into this is really substantial,” he said.

While Fauci did not explicitly fault states for reopening too soon, he did blame some people for flouting safety rules. “States may say they’re in this particular stage, but then you might find people are not adhering to the guidelines,” he told NPR. “That’s clearly increasing the risk and likely explaining some of the upticks you’re seeing.”

A second wave of outbreaks is not inevitable, he said, as long as “we do what we need to do to prevent it from happening.”

Read:Why do so many Americans refuse to wear face masks? Politics is part of it — but only part

Fauci said he was also concerned by the perception that shutting businesses or reopening them was a simple, “all or none” choice.

“It isn’t as if you stay locked down or you open up and leave caution to the wind,” he said, noting that each region needs to be treated differently, depending on a multitude of factors, and that safety precautions such as face masks and social distancing will be the norm for the foreseeable future.

“We are nowhere near herd immunity,” he said. “The bottom line is, you’ve got to protect yourself.”

As of Tuesday, the U.S. has had 2.1 million confirmed coronavirus cases, with nearly 117,000 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Fauci: No Need for a Second Lockdown
Erin Banco, Olivia Messer, The Daily Beast•June 16, 2020

Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/Getty

With top officials in the Trump White House declaring the mission accomplished in slowing the spread of the coronavirus, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert is sounding a more ominous note.

There’s no need to talk about avoiding a second wave of the pandemic, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said on Tuesday, because the country is still in the first one.

“We are seeing infections to a greater degree than they had previously seen in certain states, including states in the southwest and in the south,” Fauci said. “I don't like to talk about a second wave right now, because we haven't gotten out of our first wave.”

Fauci’s comments, which came during an interview with The Daily Beast on Tuesday, rang far different than the triumphant tune sung by Mike Pence that same day in Iowa, when the Vice President touted lower death counts and exclaimed “we did it” with respect to flattening the curve. And they come as counties across the country, including in states such as Arizona, California, North Carolina, Alabama and South Carolina, continue to see coronavirus cases and related hospitalizations increase.

Dr. Fauci Re-Emerges From Media Blackout, Says We’ll Be ‘Seeing More’ of Him

Fauci wasn’t entirely despondent about the trajectory the country was taking. He said he did not think it was “inevitable” that the U.S. would see another wave of infections and doubted that there would be another scene similar to that of New York City in April, where officials reported thousands of new cases a day and hospitals overflowed with patients.

“New York, unfortunately, really got hit by surprise, because they had activity coming into this city from Europe when everybody was focusing on China. They all of a sudden found that they had a massive outbreak,” he said. “I don't think that could happen under today's circumstances of our full awareness of the potential of this virus, which is highly transmissible.”

Fauci also said he did not believe that cities would have to go back into lockdown (after having started the process of re-opening) because of the virus’ spread. “I really don't think so,” he said. And, he said, while there’s still some reason to worry about the outbreaks across the country, rising case numbers can be managed if states continue to work to maintain the virus.

“When you start to see the inevitable exceptions that you might see when you try to pull back on the mitigation and open up…use public health measures to help you to get to your goal,” Fauci said. “Namely, if you get new infections, you put into place, the manpower, the system ... the ability to identify, isolate and contact trace so that you're actually utilizing public health measures to help you to open up.”

The longtime infectious disease specialist was clearly nervous about some of the rush to re-open that he’d seen, noting the images on TV of “people congregating in bars, with no masks.” And he didn’t sugarcoat his anxiety about his boss—President Donald Trump—moving forward with plans to hold large-scale events, including in cities with new or recurring outbreaks such as Tulsa, Oklahoma and Phoenix, Arizona.

Asked if he would personally attend, Fauci said “No.”

“I'm in a high risk category. Personally, I would not. Of course not,” he said, adding that when it came to Trump’s rallies “outside is better than inside, no crowd is better than crowd” and “crowd is better than big crowd.”

Tulsa Health Director: ‘If You Want to Stay Safe, Don’t Go’ to Trump Rally

Fauci’s comments come at a political inflection point with respect to the pandemic. With increasing case numbers, public health experts around the country have begun calling for the consideration of secondary lockdowns. But many acknowledge that it may not seem tenable for any state leader to actually order one.

In Texas, city leaders in Austin and Houston have tried to implement local stay-at-home orders. But none are allowed to impose anything more strict than Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive orders, and local officials have been threatened with legal action from some residents for trying to enforce mandatory mask-wearing. And In Oklahoma and in Arizona—where national public health experts have called special attention to rising cases and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has dubbed the state’s surges “cautionary tale” for reopening too quickly—concerns have been heightened by President Trump’s plan to restart large-scale rallies there.

Scientists and doctors have said repeatedly that until a vaccine for the coronavirus hits the market, the risk of the infection spreading will continue in communities across the nation. Fauci noted that companies have signaled to the administration that a vaccine would not be ready until the first quarter of 2021.

Some of the companies particularly said they could have 100 to 200 million doses by then, Fauci said. He declined to say whether or not he believed the vaccine should be made free for public consumption. But he did say he expected that without universal availability, “you prioritize by people at the highest risks. For example, health workers who deliberately put themselves in harm's way to help care for people. In addition, those who have comorbidities which put them at a greater risk to be able to develop the complications leading to a poor outcome.”

Is This COVID-19 Vaccine Trial a Promising Start or a Dead End?

Fauci’s interview with The Daily Beast came in the middle of a renewed media tour. The infectious disease specialist had been a regular presence on television and in the White House briefing room during the early stages of the pandemic. But in recent weeks his public speaking had been limited as had his conversations with President Trump.

Throughout the interview, he expressed reservations that his press appearances were often reduced to “soundbites” that misconstrued the meaning of his message. Normally loquacious, Fauci, on several occasions, begged off questions for fear that they would land him in trouble.

He acknowledged that things are different now than when he’s faced other public health crises. And here’s what’s made his job more difficult: the politicization of the virus. 

“There’s more back and forth ... people of different political stripes that are taking shots at each other,” he said. “I don't think it's more disinformation. It is just a situation of hoping that people would all be pulling together as opposed to, you know, being at odds with each other.”

MAINSTREET STIMULUS
The No. 1 thing Americans are spending their stimulus checks on — even more than shopping at Costco, Walmart and Target

U.S. retail sales jumped by 17.7% in May. Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast an 8.5% increase


In late March, lawmakers passed the Trump administration’s $2.2 trillion CARES Act, which included $290 billion in direct payments. 

ISTOCKPHOTO MARKETWATCH PHOTOMONTAGE

Published: June 16, 2020 

U.S. retail sales jumped by 17.7% in May, the government said Tuesday. Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast an 8.5% increase.

The rebound in U.S. retail sales follows record drop in prior two months, with clothing, home-furnishing stores and stores that sell books, music, sporting goods and other hobby items showing an increase. However, food-service sales were still down 40% in May on the year.

“The comeback was much faster than expected, and looks like a beginning of a v-shaped recovery in consumer spending,” wrote Jefferies analysts Aneta Markowska and Thomas Simons in a note. “That’s assuming the positive momentum is sustained, something we remain skeptical about.”

‘Americans used these funds to keep a roof over their head’

Nearly one-third (30%) of people said they used their stimulus checks to pay bills, according to a survey released this week, another sign that Americans are struggling to make ends meet, particularly with more than 38 million people filing for unemployment since mid-March.

Those bills — including for cellphones, utilities, cable TV and rent — are the No. 1 priority, even more than purchasing essentials and “relief spending” on apparel, televisions, video games, sporting goods and toys at Walmart WMT, +1.33%, Costco COST, +1.40% and Target TGT, +0.89%.

“It’s alarming to look at how many Americans used these funds to keep a roof over their head and pay for necessities considering the federal government has not provided clarity about another round of stimulus payments being provided in the near future,” according to the report by YouGov.

“Americans are aware of how grim the near future could be, and they took the opportunity to use the stimulus funds to help prepare them for it. By paying off debt, consumers free up some credit so they can turn to it, should they find themselves out of a job in the near future,” it added.

Over 160 million stimulus checks are winding their way to households. They’re a key part of the government’s $2.2 trillion CARES Act, but many furloughed and laid-off workers say a maximum $1,200 payment is not enough to see them through another, and perhaps bigger, Great Recession.

Although new jobless claims have been falling since March, over 2.2 million applications for unemployment compensation were filed in the last week of May through state and federal relief programs. That’s almost as many as the 2.5 million jobs supposedly regained in the entire month.



Other recent findings support the theory that people are struggling to pay bills most of all. As Americans have received their $1,200 stimulus checks, many have used it to keep a roof over their head and food on the table, according to separate research by a team of economists.

“Given the size of the 2020 stimulus checks, we might have expected large impacts on categories like automobile spending, electronics, appliances, and home furnishings,” wrote economists from Columbia University, Northwestern University, the University of Chicago and the University of Southern Denmark.

‘Individuals are catching up with rent and bill payments.’

“Instead, it seems that individuals are catching up with rent and bill payments as well as engaging in spending on food, personal care and nondurables,” it said. That research analyzed the spending and saving habits of more than 1,600 people who received their stimulus checks by April 21.

The study, distributed this month by the National Bureau of Economic Research, provides another look at how the coronavirus outbreak and its economic consequences suddenly left many American families cash-strapped — especially those making lower incomes.

There were glimmers of hope for U.S. workers who are endeavoring to make ends meet with their $1,200 stimulus checks. The Democratic-run House of Representatives approved its HEROES Act, a $3 trillion coronavirus relief package, a fortnight ago, and analysts say it’s likely next month or later.

“We expect that negotiations over a finalized version of the Phase 4 bill will take at least until the end of May,” said Height Capital Markets analysts in a note. “We expect a final package to come together successfully but note that passage will likely be delayed into June.”

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and the number of deaths continues to rise. As of Tuesday, there are 2,136,208 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the U.S., and 116,905 deaths, and 30,897 deaths in New York, the largest of any state in the country.

Worldwide, there were 8,152,885 confirmed cases and 441,407 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering. The markets, meanwhile, are looking to vaccine research on COVID-19, and the effects of any resurgence may have on corporate earnings.

The Dow Jones Industrial Index DJIA, +2.04% and the S&P 500 SPX, +1.89% ended higher Tuesday on the back of higher-than-expected retail sales and a report of a potential therapeutic steroid treatment for patients with severe COVID-19 symptoms.

(Andrew Keshner and Silvia Ascarelli contributed to this story.)

Tucker Carlson Laments That Black Lives Matter Is Now More Popular Than Trump

TUCKER CARLSON A DISH BEST SERVED COLD
Justin Baragona, The Daily Beast•June 15, 2020

Fox News

Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Monday night once again devoted a lengthy monologue to attacking Black Lives Matter, this time bemoaning the social justice movement’s rising popularity while wondering why the federal government hasn’t filed conspiracy charges against it.

Carlson, who has seen advertisers flee in recent days after saying Black Lives Matter “is definitely not about black lives,” kicked off Monday night’s program by noting that the group is gaining momentum among the American public as protests rage over George Floyd’s death and police brutality.

“Here is breaking news we never expected to report,” Carlson lamented. “Black Lives Matter is now more popular than the president of the United States and not slightly more popular than the president, much more popular.”

Noting that right-leaning pollster Rasmussen now finds 62 percent of Americans have a favorable opinion of BLM, the Fox News host pointed out that the racial justice movement also outpolled presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and the pope.

Describing BLM as the nation’s most powerful political party, Carlson went on to claim that while Americans can criticize other political parties, “Black Lives Matter now enjoys complete immunity from criticism.”

Claiming use of the phrase “All Lives Matter” is now “considered hate speech,” Carlson said the nation is in a “dangerous moment” before wondering aloud why Black Lives Matter hasn’t been brought up on federal charges over the violent protests and looting that took place days after Floyd’s death.

“Is there a reason the DOJ hasn’t filed federal conspiracy charges against the people who organized and led these riots?” Carlson grumbled. “It’s not as if we don’t know who they are. Their crimes are on YouTube. You know the reason. BLM was involved.”

The Fox News host concluded his latest anti-BLM rant by claiming that it is gaining popularity because its supporters are “getting exactly what they want” and are doing it with “force.”

“They flood the streets with angry young people who break things and they hurt anyone who gets in the way,” the conservative host declared. “When they want something, they take it. Make them mad and they will set your business on fire.”

“Annoy them and they will occupy your downtown and declare a brand-new country,” he continued. “You will not do anything about it. They know that for certain.”

Police department rips Tucker Carlson for "inaccurate" protest report
Jason Silverstein, CBS News•June 16, 2020



The police department in Fort Worth, Texas issued a statement Monday condemning Fox News host Tucker Carlson for an "absolutely inaccurate" report about its handling of recent protests. The police force said Carlson was reckless and contributed to "an environment of confusion and bitterness."

The department posted a response on its Facebook page to a Carlson segment from May 31, which alleged that Police Chief Ed Kraus had "dropped all charges" against dozens of rioters who were arrested for looting and vandalism. Carlson featured it in a segment about Republican-controlled cities that he said were "bowing" to Black Lives Matter.

Carlson also claimed Kraus issued a statement "suggesting that the real criminals in the riot were not the rioters, but his own police officers, whom he suggested would be reined in and perhaps punished." He said the police chief sounded "more like a therapist than a cop," and implied Fort Worth's murder rate could rise "if the people in charge undermine the law."

The police department said Carlson was undermining the truth.

"This information is absolutely inaccurate and is not consistent with the actual facts," it said in its statement. "The only charges dropped were minor misdemeanors which did not involve property or personal crimes."

The department added that Carlson's claim about Kraus shaming his own officers "is absolutely inaccurate and a gross mischaracterization of any statement released by Chief Kraus or the department."

"Recklessly releasing such inaccurate, unverified information does nothing for the good of the public and simply creates an environment of confusion and bitterness during a time in which so many are wanting their voices heard," it said.

Kraus' statement after the arrests did not compare his officers to criminals or talk about punishing them, as Carlson claimed, but rather said he is "committed to enacting the necessary reforms to improve our police department and our relationship with the community we serve." The police chief also noted that since May 31, the protests had been peaceful.

Police arrested 40 protesters on May 31 for suspicion of inciting a riot, and Kraus later announced that all charges for rioting would be dropped. He clarified that charges for vandalism, theft and assault would still be pursued.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram points out several other inaccuracies in Carlson's report. Carlson claimed three officers were injured during "rioting," while in fact one was hurt by a projectile and a second was injured while making an arrest. And Carlson wrongly claimed protesters blocked a bridge downtown, when it was the police who blocked it as protesters marched.

Carlson has largely been supportive of police during the recent weeks of protests calling for reform, and has been a critic of the Black Lives Matter movement for years. Major advertisers, including the Walt Disney Company and T Mobile, have dropped his show in the past week over his inflammatory comments about Black Lives Matter.

Carlson has not issued a correction for any information in his May 31 segment. Fox News representatives would not comment on the record to CBS News.

So True!’ Trump Mocked For Retweeting Himself, Then Agreeing With Himself

Ed Mazza, HuffPost•June 16, 2020

President Donald Trump fired off an unusual tweet on Monday, not only sharing a message from himself but also agreeing with it.

So true! https://t.co/E8Fy0zuKQB
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 16, 2020

“Silent majority” is a term that Trump ― like President Richard Nixon ― uses to characterize his supporters, suggesting they don’t show up in polls but will turn up at the ballot box.

Trump’s message ― and his agreement with himself ― came after several polls showed him trailing former Vice President Joe Biden. Trump’s campaign even issued a cease-and-desist order to CNN over a poll that showed the president behind by 14 points.

CNN stood by its poll.

Trump occasionally retweets himself, and at times adds a “so true” in self-agreement. But Monday evening’s message brought out the snark, with many of his critics adding “so true” statements of their own:

So true! https://t.co/Xv1jQIticB
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) June 16, 2020

There are no jokes that are funnier or more insane than this actual retweet by a sitting (and very busy) president. pic.twitter.com/w5N1jh2jdw
— edgarwright (@edgarwright) June 16, 2020

So true! https://t.co/zByw7akbc0
— George Conway (@gtconway3d) June 16, 2020

normal people do this for sure pic.twitter.com/j7KRwOFNdh
— Decoherence (@DecoherenceWave) June 16, 2020

Imagine the thought process behind the “so true!” tweet. He runs out of garbage to retweet and looks back on his previous tweet and thinks “wow, I’m like a fucking genius. This is a fucking work of art. I need to share this with the world... again!”
— Acyn Torabi (@Acyn) June 16, 2020

You do realize you’re talking to yourself, right?
— Beau Willimon (@BeauWillimon) June 16, 2020

I understand. It must get lonely in that bunker.
— Beau Willimon (@BeauWillimon) June 16, 2020

So true! https://t.co/sutP7tfJOc
— Tina -#BlueWave2020 (@trcfwtt) June 16, 2020

He finally found someone that agrees with him.
— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) June 16, 2020

like, seriously donald’s so dumb https://t.co/v60DGa4klk
— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) June 16, 2020

So true! pic.twitter.com/oBnzCKl7ac
— Cody Dog (@CodyIsAGoodBoy) June 16, 2020

So true!https://t.co/gyFMlI1Sii
— (((Jana Ben-Moshe🏴))) (@jb_in_motion) June 16, 2020

Figured I’d give you someone to talk to, Biff.
“So true!”https://t.co/kJX7rwSEvM pic.twitter.com/zi87zvp90G
— Serenity Now! (@Cpo10za) June 16, 2020

"The silent majority is stronger than ever!"
"SO TRUE!" pic.twitter.com/BaUXgDteBs
— Josh Jordan (@NumbersMuncher) June 16, 2020

So true! pic.twitter.com/FBHD6rxgFX
— Yulifero Marmol (@yulifero) June 16, 2020
This article originally appeared on HuffPost.

REST IN POWER
Rep. Ilhan Omar's father has died from COVID-19 complications
Sarah Al-Arshani
 

Rep.-elect Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., joins House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California and newly-elected members at a news conference to discuss their priorities when they assume the majority in the 116th Congress in January, at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. Associated Press/J. Scott Applewhite

Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota announced late Monday that her father died from COVID-19 complications.

"No words can describe what he meant to me and all who knew and loved him," Omar wrote in a statement on her father's death.

Omar is the first Somali-American to serve in Congress and often credited her perseverance to her father, who helped raise her from infancy after her mother passed away.

Rep. Ilhan Omar announced on Monday that her father, Nur Omar Mohamed, died from complications of COVID-19.

The Minnesota Democrat released a statement on her father's death late Monday that included an Islamic phrase "‎Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'cuun," which means "Surely we belong to God and to Him we return."

"It is with tremendous sadness and pain that I share that my father, Nur Omar Mohamed, passed away today due to complications from COVID-19," Omar wrote. "No words can describe what he meant to me and all who knew him. My family and I ask for your respect and privacy during this time."
—Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) June 16, 2020

Omar is the first Somali-American and one of the first Muslim women to serve in the US House Representatives. Her widely covered road to Congress revealed she spent her early years as a refugee who fled Somalia with her family in the early 1990s.

Omar often credited her determination to her father, who The New York Times reported raised her after her mother died while she was still an infant.

On the eve of her historic swearing-in to Congress last January, she tweeted a photo of herself and her father arriving at Virginia's Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, the same airport that she arrived in as a refugee many years earlier.

"23 years ago, from a refugee camp in Kenya, my father and I arrived at an airport in Washington DC," Omar wrote alongside the photo. "Today, we return to that same airport on the eve of my swearing in as the first Somali-American in Congress."
—Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) January 2, 2019

Omar told the Times that she often encountered bullies while growing up in suburban Virginia, which her father dismissed as "doing something to you because they feel threatened in some way by your existence."

As of late Monday, the novel coronavirus had infected more than 2.1 million and infected more than 116,000 in the US.

Flushing the toilet could create a 3-foot vortex of airborne coronavirus poop particles, a new study shows

Holly Secon

Multiple studies have found traces of the coronavirus in infected patients' poop. New Africa/Shutterstock


Multiple studies have found traces of the coronavirus in infected patients' poop.
A new study found that when toilets are flushed, they create a cloud of tiny aerosol droplets — which could contain the virus — up to 3 feet above the toilet bowl.

The cloud can remain there for about one minute and might land on other surfaces around the bathroom.

It's unclear if you could be infected from this level of exposure because scientists still don't know how much of the virus you need to be exposed to in order to get sick.

But you should close the toilet lid before you flush to prevent this cloud from escaping into the bathroom.

It's well-known by now that the coronavirus can spread from person to person via respiratory droplets.

But droplets aren't the only bodily fluid that the virus can travel in: Multiple studies have found traces of it in infected patients' poop.

A new study from the American Institute of Physics evaluated how far these potentially viral poop particles could spread when you flush a toilet. It found that a toilet's flush could spew tiny droplets from the toilet — and the material inside — up to 3 feet from the toilet, which could land on other surfaces around the bathroom.

It also found that the turbulence from a flush generated such small particles that they could float in the air around the toilet for up to a minute, where they could be inhaled by another bathroom user. Shared bathrooms can be risky for this reason.

"One can foresee that the velocity will be even higher when a toilet is used frequently, such as in the case of a family toilet during a busy time or a public toilet serving a densely populated area," Ji-Xiang Wang, a coauthor of the study who researches fluid dynamics at Yangzhou University, said in a press release.

It's unclear if the amount of virus that would be in these particles is enough to infect another person, but you should still lower the lid before you flush.

The study helps highlight the risks that could be posed by shared bathrooms as the US and other countries reopen. In general, four main factors raise your risk of catching the virus: enclosed spaces, crowds, close contact with others, and difficulty social distancing.

A small enclosed space like a bathroom presents a high risk, particularly if many people are sharing it.

Toilet flushes create a 'vortex' of droplets above the bowl

The researchers used a fluid-dynamics model to track the movement of the droplets in a toilet bowl after a flush.

When a toilet flushes, water from the tank above the bowl is pushed down into the water in the bowl — creating turbulence and changes in airflow.

The researchers studied two common types of siphon toilets. One has a single toilet inlet valve for flushing water. The other has two inlet valves, which create a rotating flow.

These valves determine the amount of pressure that the water used for flushing applies to the raw waste in the bowl. That means different amounts of the wastewater in the bowl will be spewed out.

The simulation results for flushing a one-valve toilet for 1.4 seconds. American Institute of Physics

For both types of toilets, as the water pours into the toilet bowl from one side, it splashes the opposite side, creating a vortex near the far wall.

The vortex continues upward in the air above the bowl because of inertia.

"Therefore, an airflow vortex also appears in the air zone above the toilet seat," the researchers wrote. The droplets in this vortex are carried to a height of up to 3 feet. The droplets are so small that they can float there for up to one minute.

A two-valve toilet creates an even faster vortex, forcing about 60% of these small particles into the air even more quickly, the simulation shows.

If there is infected fecal matter in the toilet, the clouds will contain them.

Still, it's unclear if these viral poop clouds can get you sick

It's unknown whether these small particles can get you sick because scientists are still not sure how much of the coronavirus you need to be exposed to in order to get infected.

The particles that are spewed from a toilet are tiny — they're known as aerosols, which are smaller than the droplets that the virus prefers to travel in.

Scientists agree that the virus is primarily transmitted through respiratory droplets — particles larger than 5 micrometers — when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or speaks.

Brooklyn's Domino Park on May 17 in New York. AP Photo/Kathy Willens

A clear solution to this dangerous problem is to close the lid before flushing. But in many countries, including the US, toilets in public restrooms don't typically have lids.

The researchers said a new toilet design could help prevent infectious-disease transmission. A toilet with a lid that closes automatically before flushing, for example, could avoid the issue.

The CIA's massive 'Vault 7' leak resulted from 'woefully lax' security protocols within the agency's own network, an internal report found
Sonam Sheth

People pose with laptops in front of projection of binary code and CIA emblem in this picture illustration taken in Zenica Reuters


The theft of highly classified cyberweapons from the CIA in 2016 resulted from the agency's elite hacking unit's failure to secure its own systems from intruders, according to an internal report obtained by The Washington Post.

The CIA discovered the breach when the radical pro-transparency group WikiLeaks published the information in a release dubbed "Vault 7." US officials say the breach was the largest unauthorized disclosure of classified information in CIA history.

Security protocol within the hacking unit that developed the cyberweapons, housed within the CIA's Center for Cyber Intelligence, was "woefully lax," the report found.

Moreover, the CIA may never have discovered the breach in the first place if WikiLeaks hadn't published the documents or if a hostile foreign power had gotten a hold of the information first, according to the repor

The Central Intelligence Agency's elite hacking team "prioritized building cyber weapons at the expense of securing their own systems," according to an internal agency report prepared for then-CIA director Mike Pompeo and his deputy, Gina Haspel, who is now the agency's director.

The Washington Post first reported on the document, which said the hacking unit's failure to secure the CIA's systems resulted in the theft of highly classified cyberweapons in 2016.

In March 2017, US officials discovered the breach when the radical pro-transparency group WikiLeaks published troves of documents detailing the CIA's electronic surveillance and cyberwarfare capabilities. WikiLeaks dubbed the series of documents "Vault 7," and officials say it was the biggest unauthorized disclosure of classified information in the agency's history.

The internal report was introduced in criminal proceedings against former CIA employee Joshua Schulte, who was charged with swiping the hacking tools and handing them over to WikiLeaks.

The government brought in witnesses who prosecutors said showed, through forensic analysis, that Schulte's work computer accessed an old file that matched some of the documents WikiLeaks posted.

Schulte's lawyers, meanwhile, pointed to the internal report as proof that the CIA's internal network was so insecure that any employee or contractor could have accessed the information Schulte is accused of stealing.

A New York jury failed to reach a verdict in the case in March after the jurors told Judge Paul Crotty that they were "extremely deadlocked" on many of the most serious charges, though he was convicted on two counts of contempt of court and making false statements to the FBI.

Crotty subsequently declared a mistrial, and prosecutors said they intended to try Schulte again later this year.

The report was compiled in October 2017 by the CIA's WikiLeaks Task Force, and it found that security protocol within the hacking unit that developed the cyberweapons, housed within the CIA's Center for Cyber Intelligence, was "woefully lax," according to the Post.

The outlet reported that the CIA may never have discovered the breach in the first place if WikiLeaks hadn't published the documents or if a hostile foreign power had gotten a hold of the information first.

"Had the data been stolen for the benefit of a state adversary and not published, we might still be unaware of the loss," the internal report said.

It also faulted the CIA for moving "too slowly" to implement safety measures "that we knew were necessary given successive breaches to other U.S. Government agencies." Moreover, most of the CIA's sensitive cyberweapons "were not compartmented, users shared systems administrator-level passwords, there were no effective removable media [thumb drive] controls, and historical data was available to users indefinitely," the report said.

The Center for Cyber Intelligence also did not monitor who used its network, so the task force could not determine the size of the breach. However, it determined that the employee who accessed the intelligence stole about 2.2 billion pages — or 34 terabytes — of information, the Post reported.