USA Today - 22 09 2020

2020·10.76 MB·English

US could see double-dip Why TV’s ‘Schitt’s Creek’ 32 things we
recession without stimulus won every comedy Emmy learned from
Week 2 of
As lawmakers remain deadlocked on a package, The record seven-award sweep seemed to stun
NFL season
economists are warning of “huge risk.” In Money even the creators of the quirky series. In Life
USA TODAY
The Packers’ offense
stayed hot, Tom Brady
got his first win with the
Bucs, and so many
top players are falling to
THE NATION'S NEWS | $2 | TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2020 Tom BradyGETTY IMAGES injuries. In Sports
USA TODAY INVESTIGATION Vacancy
puts guns
back in
spotlight
Issue adds urgency to
fill Supreme Court seat
Kevin Johnson
USA TODAY
At virtually every stop on the cam-
paign trail, President Donald Trump
has sought to strike an emotional
chord in audiences with a familiar
warning.
“Sleepy Joe is gonna take your guns
away,” Trump declared at a rally in
Minnesota on Friday night, disparag-
ing his political rival and Democratic
efforts to tighten fire-
arm controls.
ILLUSTRATION BY VERONICA BRAVO/USA TODAY The death of Su-
preme Court Associate
Justice Ruth Bader
Cheerleading’s ban list
Ginsburg has injected
fresh urgency into
Trump Trump’s rhetoric and
one of America’s most
skips 74 sex offenders divisive struggles.
Sunday, two days after the passing
of the 87-year-old jurist, the president
turned up the heat, appealing to gun
owners in the final stretch of the cam-
Across US, people accused of crimes paign: “SAVE YOUR SECOND AMEND-
MENT, VOTE TRUMP,” he tweeted.
with minors continued to work in cheer Nowhere does the tension resonate
more than at the counter of gun deal-
ers and trade shows.
Marisa Kwiatkowski and Tricia L. Nadolny USA TODAY The discordant political climate, a
roiling racial justice movement and
O
ne after another, a dozen young cheerleaders raced across a fear driven by the relentless COVID-19
pandemic pushed gun sales to record
springy blue mat and flung themselves into a series of roun-
levels. The FBI, responsible for con-
doffs and backflips, the thump of their hands and feet re- ducting background checks on pros-
pective buyers, acknowledges that
verberating through the open Ohio gym. Mishelle Robinson,
surging sales pushed its system to the
the gym owner and coach, called out instructions across the cavernous limit.
Trump has pitched at least part of
warehouse.
his reelection bid as a promise to as-
semble a Supreme Court that would
“Arms up!” The 44-year-old is a convicted felon serve as a backstop for a constellation
Photos of beaming athletes and a line – who opened a gym sanctioned by of conservative stands, including gun
of golden trophies adorned the walls. USASF while she was on Ohio’s sex of- Fatima Smith accused her coach of rights.
Among a row of banners, one embla- fender registry. assault in 2000; years later, Maurice Gun control advocates have also
zoned with the acronym USASF denoted A USA TODAY investigation found Jerralds was convicted of abusing amplified their messages in the wake
the gym’s membership in the U.S. All others who continued working in cheer- others. SANDY HOOPER/USA TODAY of Ginsburg’s death. “Make no mis-
Star Federation, the national organiza- leading despite charges or convictions take,” said Kris Brown, president of the
tion that oversees the high-stakes world for sexual misconduct involving minors. Brady Campaign, “gun safety is on the
of competitive cheerleading. USASF’s Kale Dunlap, who pleaded guilty to ballot in November.”
extensive rules cover everything from online solicitation of a minor and faces Noting Ginsburg’s long career as a
stunt safety to hair bows, which “should sexual assault charges, kept coaching USA TODAY found 180 legal “trailblazer,” Brown said the “loss
not be excessive in size.” and cheering in USASF gyms after being is overshadowed by the reality that her
people affiliated with cheer
But its rules didn’t stop someone indicted. seat, and potentially the fate of sensi-
with Robinson’s criminal record from who faced sexual charges.
owning a member gym. SeeCHEER,Page4A SeeGUNS,Page3A
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US SUPREME COURT
Ginsburg to lie in state at US Capitol on Friday
©COPYRIGHT 2020
USA TODAY,
Adivision of
Gannett Co., Inc.
She will be first woman rights icon Rosa Parks, who was not a
HOME DELIVERY
public official, was lain in “honor” at the
1-800-872-0001, USATODAYSERVICE.COM in history so honored
Capitol Rotundain 2005, but Ginsburg
will be the first woman to lie in state.
Richard Wolf The last person so honored was Geor-
How was your summer? USA TODAY gia congressman and civil rights icon
John Lewis, who died in July. Most of
Asked to describe the summer of
WASHINGTON – Associate Justice those who have lain in state were
2020, U.S. adults call it …
Ruth Bader Ginsburgwill lie in state at presidents, prominent members of
BEST EVER the U.S. Capitol on Friday, becoming Congressand military leaders. The only
WORST 2% the first woman in history so honored. other Supreme Court justice to lie in
EVER GOOD House Speaker Nancy Pelosi an- state was William Howard Taft, who
16%% 114% nounced Monday that Ginsburg’s cas- served as chief justice after his term as
ket would be placed in National Statu- president.
ary Hall, where a formal ceremony will Ginsburg’s casket will be placed on The public can pay their respects
be held for invited guests only. the Lincoln Catafalque, which first sup- Wednesday and Thursday at the
A separate ceremony will be ported President Abraham Lincoln’s Supreme Court.H. DARR BEISER/USA TODAY
Wednesday morning at the Supreme casket in the Capitol in 1865.
Court for Ginsburg’s family, close A private interment service will be
More inside:
friends and members of the court. The next week at Arlington National Ceme-
public then will have the chance to pay tery, where Ginsburg’s husband Martin
BAD Trump’s pick for Supreme Court
their respects from about 11 a.m. to 10 was buried in 2010.
30% President says he’ll probably announce
p.m. Wednesday, and 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Ginsburg, 87, died Friday following a
AVERAGE a nominee by Saturday. 3A
Thursday, under the portico at the top battle with pancreatic cancer. Since
38%
of the courthouse steps. then, thousands have left flowers and Could Dems expand the court?The
SOURCE The Economist/YouGov survey Thirty-four men have been so hon- memorials outside the high court in a short answer is yes, if they win power in
AMY BARNETTE, DAVID ANESTA/USA TODAY ored at the Capitol since 1852. Civil showing of sympathy and support. November. 2A
2A ❚ TUESDAY,SEPTEMBER 22,2020 ❚ USA TODAY NEWS
Could Democrats expand Supreme Court?
Constitution does not
limit number of seats
William Cummings
USA TODAY
Democrats are furious over the push
by President Donald Trump and Senate
Republicans to move quickly on a Su-
preme Court nominee to replace the late
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. They
vowed to consider options for how they
might respond if a confirmation vote is
held before the presidential election
Nov. 3.
Among the potential measures some
advocated is the possibility of Demo-
crats expanding the Supreme Court – an
idea often referred to as court packing –
if they win the White House and major-
ities in both houses of Congress. Sup-
porters of such a move argue additional
justices appointed during a Joe Biden
administration would offset the conser-
vative majority, which they said was un- The bench is draped in black after the death of Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.FRED SCHILLING/SUPREME COURT VIA AP
fairly established.
Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said in a
tweet that Senate Majority Leader said Republicans forced Democrats to “If leader McConnell and Senate Re-
Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., set the preced- play “constitutional hardball.” publicans move forward with this, then
ent that justices should not be con- “If Republicans play “If Republicans play hardball, it nothing is off the table for next year,”
firmed in an election year when he de- seems to me perfectly appropriate for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schum-
hardball, it seems to me
nied Merrick Garland a vote in 2016. Democrats to play hardball in re- er, D-N.Y., declared Saturday, according
“If he violates it, when Democrats perfectly appropriate for sponse,” Tushnet said. “When one side to Politico.
control the Senate in the next Congress, plays hardball and the other doesn’t, Before Ginsburg’s death, several
we must abolish the filibuster and ex- Democrats to play hardball that can erode democracy, too. And 2020 Democratic primary candidates,
pand the Supreme Court,” Markey said. mostly, that’s what we’ve experienced including Sen. Kamala Harris of Califor-
in response.”
Former Attorney General Eric Holder, in the United States already.” nia – who is Biden’s running mate – ex-
who has advocated for expanding the Mark Tushnet, Harvard law professor pressed support for the idea of expand-
court since Garland’s blocked nomina- Would Democrats go ahead? ing the court.
tion,told MSNBCthe conservative ma- Biden opposed the idea.
jority on the court is “illegitimate.” wouldn’t be able to appoint unsympa- Democratic leaders suggested they In July 2019, he told Iowa Starting
“If, in fact, they are successful in thetic justices.” are leaving all options on the table but Linethat if Democrats packed the court,
placing a justice on the court,” Holder In 1937, President Franklin Roosevelt haven’t explicitly commented one way they would “live to rue that day.” In a de-
said, “we need to think about court re- pushed for an expansion of the court, or the other on whether they would con- bate in October,he said, “I would not get
form. And at a minimum, as part of that which had ruled many portions of the sider changing the size of the court. into court packing. We add three jus-
reform package, I think additional jus- New Deal unconstitutional. The politi- Sunday, House Speaker Nancy Pelo- tices. Next time around, we lose control,
tices need to be placed on the Supreme cal battle over the effort dragged on for si, D-Calif., said, “We have our options. they add three justices. We begin to lose
Court.” months and ultimately failed despite We have arrows in our quiver that I’m any credibility the court has at all.”
John Dean, who served as White strong Democratic majorities in both not about to discuss right now,” when Biden did not directly address ex-
House counsel under President Richard houses of Congress. asked about the possibility of another panding the court when he spoke Sun-
Nixon, argued it was Senate Republi- Tushnet said that since then, people impeachment on ABC News’ “This day in Philadelphia about the vacancy
cans under McConnell who packed the have taken Roosevelt’s failure “as an in- Week.” created by Ginsburg’s death. He said
federal judiciary with conservatives and dication of the political, and perhaps When asked about the possibility of that if the nominee was left to him, he
Democrats should add judges and jus- constitutional, danger of changing the packing the court if Republicans push would follow a “process that extends
tices to “depoliticize” it. court size for political reasons.” through a nominee, Pelosi said, “Well, our finest traditions” and rejects the
let’s just win the election. Let’s hope partisanship that “has torn the country
Could Democrats do it? A danger to democracy? that the president will see the light.” apart for the last years.”
If Congress wanted to change the size In their 2018 book, “How Democra-
of the court, it could, with a president cies Die,” Harvard University professors
willing to approve it or enough support Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt ar-
to override a veto. gue that if Roosevelt had succeeded, “it
“There’s nothing in the Constitution would have set a dangerous precedent.”
that limits the size of the Supreme “Had Roosevelt passed his judicial
Court,” Josh Blackman, a professor at act, a key norm – that presidents should
the South Texas College of Law, told not undermine another coequal branch
USA TODAY. “It’s fluctuated over time.” – would have been demolished,” they
The Supreme Court’s website says, wrote.
“The Constitution places the power to Levitsky and Ziblatt cited court pack-
Pearls are always a must
determine the number of Justices in the ing as one of the tools democratically
hands of Congress. The first Judiciary elected autocrats such as Hungary’s
Act, passed in 1789, set the number of Viktor Orbánor Venezuela’s Hugo Chá- Oursterlingsilvernecklaceisan
Justices at six, one Chief Justice and vez used to weaken their opposition.
everydayessentialforpearllovers.
five Associates.” They said expanding the court would
The number of justices through the make it “hyperpoliticized,” making “its
Suspendedfromacablechain,
Civil War went from a low of five to a membership, size and selection rules
high of 10. Congress has not changed the open to constant manipulation, not un- 4-9.5mmculturedfreshwaterpearls
size of the court since the Judiciary Act like Argentina under Perón or Venezuela
gracefullydrapetheneckline.
of 1869, when it was set at nine. under Chávez.”
Harvard Law Professor Laurence Endlesslyfashionable,ourstyleadds
Has it been done? Tribetold USA TODAY that if Democrats
expand the court for political reasons, theperfectamountofclasstoanylook.
Harvard Law Professor Mark Tush- they risk “an unending escalation” in
nettold USA TODAY the size of the court which each party changes the size of the
was changed for political reasons sever- court when it has political power.
al times before 1869. Tushnet who sits Tribe denounced Republicans’ han-
on the advisory board of Take Back the dling of Garland’s nomination and Gins-
Court – a group that advocates for ex- burg’s vacancy as “hypocrisy” and “un-
panding the number of Supreme Court principled.” He said changing the court
justices as “the only strategy that rebal- in retaliation is an “understandable im-
ances the court after its 2016 theft.” pulse,” but in the long run, it could mean
Tushnet said Congress expanded the sacrificing “the idea of the Supreme
court during the Civil War “to make sure Court as a stable institution, one of the
that there’d be a Republican majority on few that can provide a kind of ballast for
the court. And then, when Andrew the ship of state.”
Johnson became president, they re- “And the long run matters,” he said.
duced the size of the court so that he Tushnetacknowledged the risks but
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NEWS USA TODAY ❚ TUESDAY,SEPTEMBER 22,2020 ❚ 3A
Trump says he will announce
Senators to watch over
filling Ginsburg seat
court nominee by Saturday
The race is on for Republicans to
quickly fill the Supreme Court vacancy
left after Ruth Bader Ginsburg’sdeath,
but not all GOP senators are on board
President signals he has with the idea of holding a confirma-
tion vote before the Nov. 3 election.
narrowed his list to 1 or 2
Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in
the chamber. Several, including some
David Jackson facing tough elections, have lined up
USA TODAY behind Senate Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell’s pledge to hold a vote on
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s nominee. Others disagree.
Trump said Monday he will announce
his Supreme Court pick at the end of Here is what key senators have said
this week because he wants to wait until about the issue:
after memorial services for the late Jus- Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska
tice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
“We’ll make a decision probably Sat- The moderate Republican reiterated
urday – but Friday or Saturday,” Trump her previous comments about filling a
told reporters at the White House, and vacancy in a Sept. 20 statement: “For
he would like to see the Republican-run weeks, I have stated that I would not
Senate vote on his nominee by Election support taking up a potential Su-
Day on Nov. 3. preme Court vacancy this close to the
“We have plenty of time to do it,” election. Sadly, what was then a hypo-
Trump said as he left the White House thetical is now our reality, but my
for a campaign trip to Ohio. position has not changed.”
Trump also said he may meet with Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah
one of the finalists – appeals court
Judge Barbara Lagoa – when he stays The moderate who is sometimes criti-
overnight in Miami on Thursday on a cal of Trump has not commented.
two-day trip; Lagoa is from Florida, a Elected in 2018, Romney was not yet
key battleground state. in office when the Senate voted on
The decision will probably trigger a Kavanaugh and Gorsuch. Spokesper-
political firestorm in the heat of Trump’s son Liz Johnson shot down a viral
election battle with Democrat Joe Bi- Twitter post alleging Romney had
den, and both parties pledged to make committed to not confirming a nomi-
the future of the high court a major cam- nee until after Inauguration Day, call-
paign issue. President Donald Trump says he wants to have Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s ing it “grossly false. #fakenews.”
Trump said five women are being replacement confirmed by the election Nov. 3.SPENCER PLATT/GETTY IMAGES Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine
vetted for the high court slot. Aides and
advisers have identified two finalists at The moderate Republican facing a
the top of the list as Lagoa and appeals not said whether the Senate should tough reelection race said after Gins-
court Judge Amy Coney Barrett. vote on a Supreme Court nomination burg’s death she did not think the
Asked if he is leaning toward one The president said the in the midst of an election. Senate should vote on a nominee
candidate or another, Trump said: “I Republican Sens. Susan Collins of before the election, though she left
have one or two that I have in mind.” Supreme Court issue would Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska the door open to voting on one after
During a morning interview on “Fox & be good for Republican said there should not be a nomination the election. Collins voted for Kava-
Friends,” Trump said of Lagoa: “She’s vote before the election. naugh and Gorsuch. “Given the prox-
excellent. She’s Hispanic ... I don’t know senators facing tough There will be memorials and ser- imity of the presidential election,
her. Florida, we love Florida. So she’s got vices for Ginsburg early in the week, however, I do not believe that the
reelection battles.
a lot of things. Very smart.” delaying Trump’s announcement of a Senate should vote on the nominee
Trump said Barrett’s home state of nominee. prior to the election,” she said. “In
Indianais “represented very well” in the looking at five – probably four, but I’m Trump and some Republicans see fairness to the American people, who
selection process. Vice President Mike looking at five very seriously.” the opening as a historic opportunity will either be reelecting the president
Pence hails from Indiana. In addition to Barrett and Lagoa, oth- for conservatives to consolidate con- or selecting a new one, the decision
Trump told reporters he has spoken er possibilities include Allison Rushing, trol of the Supreme Court. There are on a lifetime appointment to the Su-
with some of the candidates, but not a North Carolina-based judge on the five conservatives on the nine-mem- preme Court should be made by the
others; he was not specific. U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, and ber court. President who is elected on November
Senate Democrats said they will try Kate Todd, who works in the White If Republicans follow through, 3rd.”
to block the nominee, arguing that the House counsel’s office. Democrats have vowed retaliation Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo.
winner of the election should have the Trump told Fox he is considering “a should they win control of the Senate
right to make the lifetime appointment great one from Michigan,” where ap- in November. Some lawmakers have Gardner, facing a tight race, dodged
– an argument Republicans used when peals court Judge Joan Larsen served on talked about increasing the size of the when asked about it in Colorado after
a high court vacancy happened before the state Supreme Court. Supreme Court and ending the right of Ginsburg’s death, according to the
the 2016 presidential election. The president said the Supreme the minority to filibuster legislation. If Denver Post and other local media. He
It’s uncertain whether Senate Re- Court issue would be good for Republi- there were more seats on the court, a voted for Kavanaugh and Gorsuch.
publican leaders have enough votes to can senators facing tough reelection Democratic president could have a Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala.
move forward with any nomination. battles. He specifically cited Sen. Cory chance to tilt the court in a more liberal
In his Fox interview, Trump said, “I’m Gardner, R-Colo., though Gardner has direction. The Democrat facing a tough race in
November has yet to weigh in publicly.
He has said previously that he would
fight to block such an appointment.
Guns
pery slope” that might result in an ero- But Jones accused McConnell and
sion of gun rights. Trump of dishonoring Ginsburg’s lega-
There is no disputing where Trump cy by focusing so quickly on the battle
Continued from Page 1A stands in full campaign mode. to replace her. “I’m saddened –
“I protected your Second Amend- though not surprised – by how quickly
ble gun laws in America, now rests in ment,” Trump told an audience last this has turned into a political power
the hands of (Republican) Senate Ma- month in Arlington, Virginia. “Did you play by Trump and McConnell,” he said
jority Leader Mitch McConnell and think that was easy for the last four in a campaign email Saturday. “It not
President Trump. ... Those laws and the years. ... But we held totally strong, only dishonors the legacy of an Amer-
hard-earned progress that activists and and it’s always going to be with us. But ican icon, it distorts the Constitutional
concerned Americans have won for gen- if they (Democrats) get in, they will ab- process – a deliberate process that
erations are now in peril.” solutely – either obliterate it to a point the Senate has always used to uphold
Guns were on the Supreme Court’s of no return or actually terminate it. the independence of our judicial
docket last term, the first major Second And I have no doubt about it.” branch.”
Amendment case in nearly a decade, The Biden campaign has offered no Jones voted against Kavanaugh. He
when the court weighed a challenge to such proposal, but the former vice was not in the Senate for Gorsuch’s
New York City’s ban on transporting le- president does advocate for restric- nomination.
gally owned guns outside city limits. tions, such as an expansion of back-
Gun rights groups argued that the ground checks – an idea that Trump Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa
prohibition was too restrictive, as it ef- Some Second Amendment supporters briefly weighed last year. Biden pro- One of the most senior members of
fectively barred gun owners from taking worry Joe Biden might try to take their poses a ban on the manufacture and the Senate, he told Iowa reporters in
firearms to shooting ranges or to vaca- guns away. KATHY PLONKA/AP sale of weapons with high-capacity July he would not favor moving for-
tion homes beyond city limits. ammunition magazines. ward but said the decision was ulti-
In April, the court voided the case by When Biden was a Delaware sena- mately up to Graham or McConnell.
ruling that New York’s repeal of the re- and championed common sense, as she tor, he pushed to establish a 10-year
striction rendered the case closed. did so many times before.” ban on certain weapons that expired in “I would have to tell him that I
The challenge underscored the sharp The National Rifle Association, 2004. He said that if he is elected wouldn’t have a hearing,” Grassley
political differences that are on display which supported the case, declined president, he would create a buyback said. “But if he decides to have a hear-
as Republicans and Democrats clash comment Monday. program for weapons in circulation. ing, that’s his decision. And then
over when and how Ginsburg’s seat Two weeks after the mass shooting Charlie Kelly, senior political advis- whether or not the nominee would
should be filled. in 2018 that left 17 dead at Marjory Sto- er for Everytown, called the pairing of come up on the floor before the elec-
The prospect of the court expanding neman Douglas High School in Park- Biden and California Sen. Kamala Har- tion would be Chairman (sic) McCon-
gun rights in the New York case set off a land, Florida, Trump sounded little like ris, a former state attorney general, the nell’s decision, and you would have to
partisan dispute in the Senate when five the candidate embraced by the gun lob- “strongest gun safety ticket” that of- ask him what he’s going to do in that
Democrats filed a brief urging the court by. The president, in a discussion of fers a stark difference for voters. “Even regard.”
to dismiss the case or voters might de- school safety measures, startled law- in the age of COVID, the issue has only Grassley voted for Kavanaugh and
mand that it be “restructured.” makers – particularly pro-gun Republi- increased,” Kelly said, referring to Gorsuch.
That was interpreted by many as a cans – when he expressed support for surges in gun violence in some cities.
threat to pack the court with additional taking firearms away from people who During weekend vigils after Gins- Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kansas
justices if Democrats win the White might commit violence before going burg’s death, a group of gun rights ad- He is one of the chamber’s institution-
House and Senate. through legal due process in the courts. vocates was in the midst of its annual alists who could be wary of how filling
Fifty-three Republicans followed “I like taking guns away early,” Trump policy conference. this vacancy could impact the Senate
with a letter to the court complaining said. “Take the guns first, go through Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Sec- long-term after Republicans also
that Democrats “openly threatened this due process second.” Trump chided fel- ond Amendment Foundation, warned blocked President Barack Obama’s
court with political retribution.” low Republicans, saying they were “pet- delegates that Biden would use the nominee in 2016. As a retiring senator,
“The implication is as plain as day: rified” of the NRA. courts and other arms of the federal he does not have to worry about his
‘Dismiss this case, or we’ll pack the After a meeting with the NRA, Trump government to shrink access to guns. reelection. He has yet to weigh in on
court,’” they wrote. backed away from taking aggressive ac- “Between now and the November Ginsburg’s vacancy; Roberts voted for
In a statement after Ginsburg’s tion. He again retreated from brief con- election, there are no rest stops along Kavanaugh and Gorsuch.
death, Everytown for Gun Safetynoted sideration of expanded background the way,” Gottlieb told the group.
Nicolas Wu and Christal Hayes
the New York case, saying the justice checks after mass shootings in Texas Contributing: Richard Wolf and Da-
“dismantled the gun lobby’s argument and Ohio in 2019, referring to the “slip- vid Jackson
4A ❚ TUESDAY,SEPTEMBER 22,2020 ❚ USA TODAY NEWS
USA TODAY INVESTIGATION
Cheer
Continued from Page 1A
Patrick Avard was convicted in 2003
of two misdemeanors for exchanging
explicit photos with a teenage girl, but
he remains one of the sport’s most
sought-after music producers.
And Ricky Despain remained in
cheerleading even after his conviction
in 2008 for abusing two girls at his Vir-
ginia gym landed him on the sex offend-
er registry. Until this year, Despain
owned a gym that has been sanctioned
by USASF, despite a Houston Pressarti-
cle in 2015 that highlighted his past and
a complaint in January 2019 provided to
USASF.
Karrah Pope, whom Despain was
convicted of inappropriately touching
when she was 14, said she stopped
cheering competitively because she
worried about seeing him at events. Be-
cause he kept the sport, she lost it.
“I would think that they would want
to put their athletes’ safety obviously as
a top priority,” said Pope, 28. “And that
clearly was not happening when a regis-
tered sex offender was allowed to be Mishelle Robinson, owner of Empire All Stars, coaches cheer practice Aug. 19 in Ravenna, Ohio. Robinson registered her
there and own a cheerleading organiza- gym with the U.S. All Star Federation, which controls a fast-paced segment of cheerleading.SANDY HOOPER/USA TODAY
tion still.”
USA TODAY identified nearly 180 in-
dividuals affiliated with cheerleading had reported to police, then confirmed a through its safety certification program,
who have faced charges relating to sex- gym owner had reported the allega- offers a course on identifying the mal-
ual misconduct involving minors but tions. “Based on this information – the treatment of children and launched an
were not banned by the sport’s two gov- mandated reporting requirements had online reporting form for abuse allega-
erning bodies, USASF and USA Cheer. been followed and the USASF would fol- tions.
More than 140 of them – a group that in- low the process in place, and let the in- In an interview with USA TODAY,
cludes coaches, choreographers and vestigation proceed,” the timeline Harris and USA Cheer Director of Edu-
others directly tied to the activity – have reads. cation and Programs Jim Lord said the
been convicted, and 74 are registered The organization’s timeline indicates organization’s banned list is one of
sex offenders. it did not contact Kristen again until af- many tools to keep athletes safe. Lord
Amy Clark, USASF’s vice president of ter she sent a second report to USASF, said he visits search engines once a
membership, said her organization has eight weeks after her first. USASF sus- week, using terms such as “cheer
robust child protection policies and pended Harris on Sept. 14, the same day Nancy Hogshead-Makar is CEO of the coach,” “athlete abuse” and “sexual as-
“leads the way” on athlete safety. USA TODAY reported the allegations advocacy group Champion Women. sault,” to find people to ban. He said he
“I think you would be hard-pressed to against him. Harris was in a USASF- PHELAN EBENHACK FOR USA TODAY looks for coaches who abused athletes
find another youth sports organization member gym as recently as June, ac- in their care but also high school teach-
that has dedicated the time and the ef- cording to that gym’s social media ac- ers whose victims had no connection to
fort that we have to these nonsporting count. gone out there again and reoffended and their role as a cheer coach.
resources,” she said. Clark spoke with USA TODAY for did it again, no. I would have no right to “One of my weekly things that I do on
As of mid-July, the governing bodies about 30 minutes in late August, then ever expect anyone to forget or forgive. my checklist is to go do another search,
had suspended or banned just 21 indi- declined further interview requests. Never. But the fact is, I didn’t.” to see if anything has shown up,” he
viduals, according to lists meant to USASF President Jim Chadwick de- said.
warn parents and gym owners about clined to be interviewed. Neither would ‘That just boggles my mind’ Lord’s searching resulted in five
potential threats to children. The lists discuss specific individuals, including names since the list was created in
have since grown to 118 names, and Harris and Robinson, the Ohio gym USASF and USA Cheer were founded June. The others on USA Cheer’s initial
nearly all of the new additions came in owner. by and retain strong ties to Varsity Spir- list were individuals already banned by
the past four weeks from the names pro- Clark and USA Cheer Executive Di- it, a for-profit company that dominates USASF.
vided by USA TODAY. rector LauriHarris (no relation to Jerry the sport. Clark, who oversees membership for
While some of the individuals USA Harris) said their organizations adopted Varsity – whose empire extends into USASF’s more than 2,300 clubs, said
TODAY identified are serving lengthy policies and implemented training cheer clothing, camps and competitions her organization is open to banning
prison sentences, many others could courses to prevent and identify sexual – provided the startup capital for nonmembers. When provided with USA
walk into a gym and, under USASF’s abuse in the sport. USASF in 2003. Four years later, the TODAY’s findings, she stressed that the
policies, start coaching kids. USASF and USA Cheer made changes company created USA Cheer, the na- majority had never been affiliated with
USASF requires only coaches who go to their websites as USA TODAY con- tional governing body that serves as the USASF.
backstage or in the warmup area at ducted its investigation. USA Cheer umbrella organization for all aspects of “We’re a voluntary-membership or-
competitions to be members and back- dropped the word “preferred” from its cheerleading, including school-based ganization,” she said via email, “not a
ground checked through its system. roster of music vendors and added a programs, youth and recreational clubs gatekeeper for participation in the
Though it mandates gym owners con- disclaimer that it is not responsible for and the U.S. national teams. sport.”
duct their own screenings and back- the actions of any company in the direc- USA Cheer has no employees of its Among the nearly 180 people USA
ground checks for anyone who interacts tory. Avard’s company remains on the own. All six of its staff members are Var- TODAY found by searching Google,
with a minor, what businesses do with vendor list. sity employees contracted to work for news archives and public records are
that information is up to them. USA Cheer’s banned list has more the nonprofit group. The same goes for former USASF members and some
“We don’t get into the hiring at each than quintupled in size since Aug. 25, USASF’s president and vice president of whom the governing bodies were aware
of those member clubs,” Clark said. “So when USA TODAY shared the findings events and corporate alliances. Varsity- of but had not banned.
each of them have their process. Hope- of its investigation with cheer officials. owned companies hold a permanent Arkansas cheerleading coach and
fully, each of them have legal counsel USASF says any coach banned from an- majority of seats on USASF’s board of gym owner Matthew Tinkle was
that would work with them.” other sport is ineligible for USASF mem- directors. charged in 2013 with raping a 13-year-
The world of cheerleading extends bership. John Patterson, a former staff mem- old girl. At the time, USASF said it would
far beyond girls waving pompoms on Olympic swimmer Nancy Hogshead- ber of the Nonprofit Risk Management not make major changes to Tinkle’s
the sidelines of football games. More Makar, founder and CEO of the advoca- Center who has consulted with non- membership status unless there was a
than 3.7 million people participate in cy group Champion Women, said the in- profit groups on youth safety issues, conviction, according to a KATV report.
cheer, from 5-year-olds at Pop Warner complete banned lists represent a stun- said he’s never heard of an arrangement Tinkle pleaded to a felony charge of rape
games to collegiate athletes to members ning abdication of responsibility, par- quite like the one between Varsity and in 2014 and was sentenced to 10 years in
of private gyms. At the highest levels, ticularly in the wake of a sex abuse the governing bodies. He said the com- prison, court records show.
cheerleaders perform athletic, aerial scandalthat consumed gymnastics. pany’s control of the USASF board Teacher and cheerleading coach
stunts in nationally televised competi- “If it’s going to be a tool, you just means “whatever Varsity wants, Varsity Shelley Duncan kissed and groped a 14-
tions. Cheerleading reached a broader made it into a toothpick instead of an ice can get.” year-old boy and exchanged 7,425 text
audience in January, when Netflix re- pick,” Hogshead-Makar said. “You es- “With that kind of influence, it seems messages with him in 2016, according to
leased “Cheer,” a docuseries that chron- sentially made it meaningless by only to me that the company should have an Oklahoma court records. She is serving
icled the journey of Navarro College’s having 21 people on there.” influence over the measures that they a six-year prison sentence for commit-
cheerleaders as they sought a national take to protect kids,” Patterson said. ting a lewd act with a child. She is one of
title. ‘A second chance’ Nicole Lauchaire,a senior vice presi- three people whom USA Cheer revoked
Thursday, one of the stars of “Cheer,” dent at Varsity Spirit, said Varsity or suspended safety certification for but
Jerry Harris, was arrested by the FBI USA Cheer banned Robinson in early helped create both organizations be- did not ban.
and charged with production of child September, but she still can coach in cause it believed “oversight and rules Maurice Jerralds, a former USASF
pornography. According to federal court and own her USASF-member gym in and regulations were needed.” member, abused four girls from 2000 to
records, Harris admitted to agents that Ravenna, Ohio. “Both those organizations are very 2010, according to court records. He was
he solicited and received explicit mes- In an interview with USA TODAY, much focused on the safety of athletes convicted and sentenced in 2012 on 10
sages on Snapchat from 10 to 15 individ- Robinson was open in describing how and athlete protection,” she said. “And counts of taking indecent liberties with
uals he knew were minors, had sex with she started a member gym while on the we share in that mission.” a child and one count of aggravated sex-
a 15-year-old at a cheerleading competi- sex offender registry. USA Cheer and USASF have in- ual battery. Jerralds is in prison in Vir-
tion in 2019 and paid a 17-year-old mon- Robinson said her sister is the regis- creased their focus on child protection. ginia and listed on the sex offender reg-
ey in exchange for nude photos. Harris tered owner with USASF because Rob- Clark said that in the past three istry.
has not responded to requests for com- inson knows her conviction in 2006 for years, USASF has implemented a sexual Nancy Oglesby, one of the prosecu-
ment. sexual battery of a high school boy abuse prevention policy, adopted the tors who handled Jerralds’ case,
Kristen, a mother in Texas whose 14- would show up on a background check. policies of the U.S. Center for SafeSport laughed in disbelief last month when
year-old sons accused Harris of abuse, She said she buys a spectator ticket and and created housing and travel policies she learned Jerralds had not been
told USA TODAYshe reported the alle- does not go backstage or in the warmup designed to minimize the risk of abuse banned.
gations involving her sons to USASF in area of competitions. while athletes are on the road. “He’s a violent, registered sex offend-
May and July. USA TODAY withheld She said she assumes USASF knows During a phone call July 10 with the er,” she said. “He got a 20-year sentence
Kristen’s last name because her sons are about her criminal record. Her uncle has mother whose boys accused Jerry Har- to serve. I don’t know what more you
minors and alleging abuse. She said she been involved with USASF as a member, ris of abuse, Clark acknowledged that would need to determine that he needs
was frustrated the organization didn’t gym owner and credentialing instruc- not all gyms follow USASF’s sexual to be banned. I mean, that just boggles
do more. tor. Robinson, who was on Ohio’s sex of- abuse prevention policy. “I am certain my mind.”
In an email to its members Wednes- fender registry until March, said USASF that people don’t do it,” Clark said, ac- Tinkle, Duncan and Jerralds were all
day, USASF defended its handling of has never questioned her involvement cording to an audio recording the moth- banned by USA Cheer after USA TODAY
Kristen’s reports and provided a time- in the sport. er provided to USA TODAY. provided their names.
line. It says that after receiving the first “Everyone deserves a second Lauri Harris said USA Cheer has
report in May, Clark asked Kristen if she chance,” Robinson said. “Now, had I trained more than 20,000 coaches SeeCHEER,Page5A
NEWS USA TODAY ❚ TUESDAY,SEPTEMBER 22,2020 ❚ 5A
USA TODAY INVESTIGATION
Cheer
photos or show her on his web cam, po-
lice records show. He made the request
“There’s a lot of holes that gyms will go through to make their repeatedly. She didn’t call, and when
Continued from Page 4A they signed off, police said, Avard told
programs better sometimes. And it’s not always for the safety
her the conversation would “be our se-
Leaving it up to the gyms of the athletes. It’s more of just how they can win.” cret.”
Avard pleaded guilty and served
Kale Dunlap’s case illustrates what Taylor Hamilton, who warned a gym owner about one of her employees three months in jail, according to court
can happen when individual gyms are documents.
left to decide who is safe to coach kids. years after he was first indicted – and tor, said companies get on the approved In response to questions from USA
In 2018, Dunlap worked at the Flip posted on Facebook that “between my- list once owners agree to follow copy- TODAY, Harris said USA Cheer encour-
House Cheer and Tumble in Abilene, self and the mom of the child we were on right law. They are not subject to back- ages teams to thoroughly screen anyone
Texas. Gym owner Karen Perricone their butt constantly.” ground checks. Harris said the organi- who has direct contact with athletes but
knew the 19-year-old faced sexual as- Perricone told USA TODAY that when zation found out about Avard’s record in pointed out that music producers “have
sault charges but employed him any- she wrote the email defending Dunlap, July, the same month his case resur- really no interaction with athletes.”
way. she believed he was innocent. faced on social media. She said USA Avard attended a practice of USA
“We live in a country “He was never left alone at my gym Cheer doesn’t have any agreement with Cheer’s teams in Atlanta without being
that people are INNO- and to my knowledge he never had any Avard or any other providers and is re- background checked. (Harris said the
CENT UNTIL PROVEN misconduct with any of our students,” viewing its music provider policies. athletes on that team are all 18 or older
GUILTY, which he has not Perricone said in an email. Court documents show Avard was and are never unsupervised at prac-
been,” she wrote in De- Taylor Hamilton, the woman who convicted in 2003 of misdemeanor tices.) Avard’s social media accounts –
cember 2018 in an email tried to warn Perricone about Dunlap in counts of furnishing harmful materials which he turned private after USA TO-
to a woman who warned 2018, told USA TODAY the fact that Dun- to minors and sexual exploitation of DAY informed him through a repre-
Dunlap her about Dunlap’s lap continued to coach while facing seri- children. sentative that the newspaper would re-
charges. ous charges highlights a problem in the Avard declined to be interviewed for porton his record – show him regularly
“I happen to believe Kale,” she con- sport. this article. In a statement, he wrote, “I attending competitions, including as re-
tinued, “and the story of his accusations “There’s a lot of holes that gyms will was charged with two misdemeanors, cently as March.
is bull [----].” go through to make their programs bet- took full responsibility for my actions
Seven months later, Dunlap was ter sometimes,” Hamilton said. “And it’s and have lived every day since working ‘There’s no secrets’
seeking work in other Texas gyms – and not always for the safety of the athletes. to prove that one serious lapse in judg-
facing additional accusations of mis- It’s more of just how they can win.” ment does not define a person’s worth. I Robinson said she tells every family
conduct. am truly committed to my community, that comes to her Ohio gym about her
In July 2019, Texas gym owner Lori ‘Very suspect incidents’ my family and my business, and will conviction for sexual battery. She said
Schlunt-Thomas posted a warning continue to make positive contributions she’s lost some students because of it.
about Dunlap in the All-Star Gym Own- The custom mixes created by Patrick to the cheer industry.” But most stay.
ers Association’s private Facebook Avard’s company – two-and-a-half en- In his statement, Avard misstated his “There’s no secrets,” she told USA
group. She wrote that Dunlap had ap- ergetic minutes layered with lyrics, own age and the victim’s at the time of TODAY in August. “There’s no closed
plied for jobs in the area and sent some drums and sound effects that punctuate the incident, making himself a year doors.”
of her underage athletes graphic sexual the moments cheerleaders are flung into younger and her a year older. Police rec- About two weeks later, after her
messages. Schlunt-Thomas said she re- the air – have been the soundtrack to 168 ords show the girl was 16 and Avard 25. name appeared on USA Cheer’s banned
ported the situation to police and medal-winning routines. She told police in Fayetteville, Geor- list, Robinson posted a Facebook update
USASF and questioned why Dunlap They have turned Avard, 43, owner of gia, that she barely knew Avard, a coach announcing a change at her gym: Her
wasn’t listed on USASF’s banned list. New Level Music, into one of the most at the gym where she worked, when he son would take ownership of the gym’s
He was indicted two months later in a sought-after producers in cheerleading. wrote her on instant messaging. Soon All Star cheerleading program.
second case for felony online solicita- In January, Avard stood backstage at into their conversation, Avard asked Robinson said she’d remain involved
tion of a minor, according to court rec- “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” where the what she was wearing and initiated a in the gym’s dance program as coach
ords. Dunlap pleaded guilty to that stars of Netflix’s breakout docuseries game of Truth or Dare. and owner. A few days later, she posted
charge in January and was sentenced to performed to his music. This summer, She picked Truth, according to police the gym’s cheer schedule on her Face-
four years in prison. In June, he was in- his music has been broadcast into mil- records that describe their conversa- book page.
dicted in a third case after police said he lions of U.S. homes as the Wildcats, an tion, and Avard asked how far she had Clark wouldn’t speak with USA TO-
sent sexually explicit messages to two All Star cheer team, competed on been with a boy. She wrote back, “made DAY about Robinson’s affiliation with
girls, ages 13 and 14. Dunlap declined to “America’s Got Talent.” out.” USASF.
be interviewed for this article. In 2015, USA Cheer named Avard’s Avard picked Dare. In an email, she offered a general ob-
In January, Schlunt-Thomas wrote company the exclusive music producer As she thought of a challenge, he servation: “It goes without saying that
on Facebook that Dunlap had been con- of its national teams, and his business is emailed her two photos of his penis, ac- the question of how a registered sex of-
victed in the second case. A few days one of about a hundred on the organiza- cording to police. fender can work in a gym is a pressing
later, she noticed his name had finally tion’s list of approved vendors. Avard asked the girl to call and dare and important one.”
been added to USASF’s list – nearly two Harris, USA Cheer’s executive direc- him to “jerk off,” saying he would take She did not give an answer.
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NEWS
6A ❚ TUESDAY,SEPTEMBER 22,2020 ❚ USA TODAY
DOJ labels three cities as ‘anarchist’
NYC, Seattle, Portland saw “anything but anarchy” as he greet-
ed preschool children in Queens on their
decry political ‘stunt’
first day back in the classroom. The
city’s corporation counselalso said offi-
Kristine Phillips and Ryan W. Miller cials will sue the Trump administration
USA TODAY if it withholds federal funding.
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan said
WASHINGTON – The Justice Depart- threatening to withhold federal funding
ment on Monday singled out Portland, is a “gross misuse of federal power.”
Oregon; New York City and Seattle as “Trump, the Department of Justice,
“anarchist jurisdictions” – cities that and Barr’s obsession with Seattle and
the Trump administration said have al- me is irrational and, most importantly, a
lowed violence to persist during months huge distraction,” Durkan said Monday,
of civil demonstrations over racial in- alluding to a New York Times reportlast
justice and police brutality and could week that Barr had asked the agency’s
lose federal funding. Civil Rights Division to explore whether
The designation of the three cities – to charge Durkan for allowing protesters
all led by Democrats – was in response to establish a police-free zone this sum-
to President Donald Trump’s Sept. 2 ex- mer. The Justice Department denied
ecutive order, which threatened to that Barr directed prosecutors to do so.
withhold federal funding from cities In a joint statement following
where the administration said state and New York police officers watch demonstrators in Times Square on June 1, during Trump’s executive order this month, the
local officials have cut police depart- a “Black Lives Matter” protest.TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES mayors of Portland, Seattle, New York
ment funding, refused offers for help City and Washington, D.C., said with-
from the federal government and failed holding federal funding would be illegal.
to rein in violence. Trump’s executive order also singled
The Office of Management and Bud- Trump has been campaigning on a out Washington, D.C., although the Jus-
get will send guidance on restricting the law-and-order message, casting urban tice Department did not designate the
cities’ eligibility for federal dollars. cities as places of violence, as he seeks a district as an “anarchist jurisdiction.”
“We cannot allow federal tax dollars second term. “We are confronting unprecedented
to be wasted when the safety of the citi- “This is thoroughly political and un- challenges – fighting back a pandemic
zenry hangs in the balance. It is my hope constitutional. The President is playing and economic devastation without an-
that the cities identified by the Depart- cheap political games with congres- other stimulus. Now, instead of leader-
ment of Justice today will reverse sionally directed funds,” the three may- ship from the White House, we are faced
course and become serious about per- ors said in a statement Monday. “What with new attacks that are unlawful and
forming the basic function of govern- the Trump Administration is engaging will undoubtedly be defeated in court,”
ment and start protecting their own citi- in now is more of what we’ve seen all the mayors said.
zens,” Attorney General William Barr along: shirking responsibility and plac- The Justice Department listed sever-
said in a statement. ing blame elsewhere to cover its failure.” al reasons for choosing Portland, Seattle
The mayors of Portland, Seattle and This is the latest in an escalation of and New York City, one of which is the
New York City criticized the move as a tension between the Trump administra- cities’ decisions to eliminate positions
political stunt to punish Democratic cit- tion and cities led by Democratic may- and cut thousand of dollars from their
ies beset by crisis amid a deadly pan- ors, as civil unrest over racial injustice, police departments.
demic and accused the Trump admini- sparked by the death of George Floyd The department also mentioned the
stration of trying to distract from its in- and other Black people at the hands of Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, shown in Capitol Hill Organized Protest area, or
ability to contain the spread of corona- police, has stretched over months. July, has called the administration’s CHOP – several city blocks taken over
virus, which has killed nearly 200,000 At a news conference Monday, New move “a gross misuse of federal by protesters following Floyd’s death.
in the country. York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said he power.”TED S. WARREN/AP Seattle police cleared the areain July.
Poll: Majority of Americans say cities under siege
Results echo Democratic
and GOP talking points
Rebecca Morin
USA TODAY
WASHINGTON – As protests against
systemic racism continue across the
USA and law and order becomes a major
theme in the 2020 presidential race, a
new poll shows most Americans say cit-
ies are under siege
More than two-thirds (64%) of those
surveyed say they believe protesters
and counterprotesters are overwhelm-
ing American cities, according to a USA
TODAY/Ipsos poll. That majority shows
stark partisan divisions that echo the
messages coming from Republican
President Donald Trump and Demo-
cratic nominee Joe Biden: Significantly
more Republicans than Democrats say
cities are under siege, 83% to 48%, re-
spectively.
Those who live in rural areas (71%)
are more likely to agree with that senti-
ment than those in urban areas (59%). Protesters march from Halloran Park through downtown Stoughton, Mass., to Town Hall for a Black Lives Matter protest
As Americans reckon with racial in- June 10.ALYSSA STONE/USA TODAY NETWORK
justice and inequality after a series of
high-profile deaths of Black people, pro-
tests have called for change, especially according to the Ipsos poll. Fifty-four cording to the poll. That’s more than the respondents point to both conservative
in terms of policing. Several protests percent say people should arm them- 49% who say assault by police officers and mainstream media, as well as the
have descended into violence and loot- selves to protect private property during has gotten worse. president.
ing, though the movement is largely protests. Cornelia Cheathamsays she doesn’t Six in 10 Americans say the main-
peaceful. “I think Portland is under siege be- feel safe in Trump’s America because of stream media has made the protests
The summer of strife has played out cause of all of the Black Lives Matter the racial climate. more dangerous, followed by the Black
while the nation is in the throes of an in- movement,” says Brown, who answered “If Trump wins, I feel it will be dan- Lives Matter movement at 59% and
creasingly contentious presidential the poll. “They want to just cause strife. gerous for minorities,” Cheatham, 60, Trump at 54%. A majority of Americans
race. Biden denounced violent agitators They don’t care about the life, they just says. “Because we have no guards to feel say antifa (53%), conservative militias
but said he believes the protesters’ mes- want to cause breakdown in the United safe anymore. Everything’s been (52%) and conservative media (51%)
sage is right. States as a whole.” stripped away from us. The way he’s di- contribute to protests becoming more
Trump has ramped up his rhetoric, Brown, 51, says demonstrators in viding the nation. Everybody’s going to dangerous.
referring to himself as the “law and or- Portland, Ore., have taken over, pointing get guns, and people are scared, and Less than one-third (29%) say Biden
der president” and calling for law en- to a sit-in by protesters in the lobby of they’ll shoot you on site.” has made the protests more dangerous.
forcement to crack down on the protes- Mayor Ted Wheeler’s condominium. Cheatham, who supports the Black There also is a strong partisan divide
ters, calling them “thugs” and “very bad Lives Matter movement, says she be- among Democrats and Republicans as
people.” Trump has used the unrest as a Crime and coronavirus top issues lieves that if Biden is elected, “there’ll be to what is causing the protests to be-
direct appeal to white suburban women a change, and he’ll bring everybody to- come more dangerous.
to back him again after he won their Crime is one of the top concerns for gether.” Among Republicans, 81% say the
support over Hillary Clinton in 2016. Americans, according to the poll, sec- “If not, I think it will be eventually a Black Lives Matter movement makes
Suburban voters are crucial in the 2020 ond only to the coronavirus pandemic. race war,” she says, “if Trump gets in protests more dangerous, compared
battle for several swing states, including More than one in three (34%) Amer- there.” with 41% of Democrats. Comparatively,
Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylva- icans say crime, violence or unrest is the Dawn Tuller, 42, of Hebron, Nebras- 72% of Democrats say the same is true
nia. most worrying topic, and COVID-19 ka, says that although she doesn’t know about conservative militias, compared
Michelle Brown, who lives in Beaver- ranks No. 1 at 44%. There is again a par- exactly what the president has done to with 41% of Republicans.
ton, Oregon, a suburb of Portland, says tisan divide in which unrest is the top address the protests, she agrees with When broken down by party, 25% of
Trump has “done a lot of good for this issue for 42% of Republicans compared his messaging. Republicans and a whopping 85% of
country.” Portland has seen weeks of with 27% of Democrats. The majority of “I like the way that he’s been doing Democrats blame Trump for making the
protests since the killing of George Democrats (56%) say their top concern things,” she says, adding that she be- protests more dangerous. More than
Floyd in Minneapolis, and Trump sent is COVID-19. lieves the protests were never peaceful half (58%) of Republicans and only 7%
in federal law enforcement. Despite many protesters calling for and started out as riots. of Democrats say the same of Biden.
The use of federal officials in U.S. cit- justice for those who have died or been Trump has repeatedly condemned
ies was highly controversial, but more harmed by police violence, almost two What causes the violence? the protests and blamed antifa as the
than half (56%) of Americans say the in three (63%) Americans say they be- cause for riots and destruction. Trump
government should deploy more police lieve assaults on police officers have There are various factors Americans deployed federal agents to a number of
to get protests and unrest under control, gotten worse in the past six months, ac- say make protests more dangerous. Poll cities amid the protests.
NEWS USA TODAY ❚ TUESDAY,SEPTEMBER 22,2020 ❚ 7A
OPINION
Packing the
Supreme Court
It’s all about power, not principle
Jonathan Turley tellectual diversity.
However, there was a critical catch.
“Nothing is off the table next year.” The increase to 17 or 19 justices would
Those words of Senate Minority Leader occur slowly so no president would be
Chuck Schumer capture the “total war” allowed to appoint more than two addi-
declarations of the Democrats when tional justices in a term. The commit-
asked about any nomination to replace ment would be for a full court over
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader roughly two decades.
Ginsburg before the election. That is the difference between re-
There is a type of liberation that forming and packing a court.
comes from what military theorist Carl This call began a few years ago.
von Clausewitz called “absoluter Commentators like Pema Levy de-
Krieg”: "War is nothing more than the clared that the Republicans were suc-
continuation of politics by other ceeding in shaping the court, and that it
means.” The means raised with has led “some Democrats to believe MIKE THOMPSON/USA TODAY NETWORK
Schumer is a demand for the Demo- that it’s time to throw out the rule book
crats to pack the nation’s highest court and fight back.” That “rule book” was COVID economy may
with added members once they take precisely called the Constitution.
control of the Senate. House Judiciary
Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler also Democrats’ muscle play
take years to recover
declared that “the incoming Senate
should immediately move to expand Democrats want to simply engineer
the Supreme Court.” Rep. Joe Kennedy a majority in a raw muscle play after
III, D-Mass., tweeted: “If (the Senate) taking over the Senate and the White
holds a vote in 2020, we pack the court House. It is as raw and transparent as Millions must choose the students, of course, but also teach-
in 2021. It’s that simple.” the FDR court-packing scheme. Faced between kids and jobs ers and other school employees.
Yes, it is as simple as it is senseless. with a conservative majority ruling This dilemma has resulted in a mess.
It is a curious way to honor Justice against his New Deal legislation, Roo- Some schools have opened to immedi-
Ginsburg by destroying the institution sevelt called for up to six additional jus- Paul Brandus ate, disastrous effects. Others have
she loved. Packing the court is all about tices, one for every justice older than stayed closed. Still others are experi-
power, not principle. 70. That was basically the profile of the We’ve reached 200,000 Americans menting, splitting kids’ time between
As members and commentators “four horsemen” blocking the presi- dead of COVID-19 in eight months — school and home.
have lined up to pack the court once dent’s measures. nearly half the U.S. death toll in World Parents are caught in a gray zone
Democrats take control of the White Like the latest calls, the FDR plan War II, which lasted over 45 months for here. As recently as February 2020 B.C.
House and the Senate, I’ve been called was based on politics rather than prin- America. As if that isn’t awful enough, (before coronavirus), they could head
about a plan that I proposed over two ciple. When the politics changed, the damage from the pandemic keeps pil- off to jobs in the morning, knowing that
decades ago to expand the court. This, plan died. FDR dropped his plan as ing up in other ruinous ways. It’s all their children would be either in school
however, is not my plan. It would ex- soon as he got what he wanted with a connected, meaning that one bad thing or day care. Many also knew that other
pand the court for the wrong reason favorable majority. That is why the can make something else worse. family members — grandparents per-
and in the wrong way. In that sense, it is switch of Justice Owen Roberts in favor Case in point: With schools under- haps — would be available to help out.
more similar to the court-packing plan of a New Deal case became known as a way, 4.3 million workers might have to All of this has been disrupted by the
of President Franklin Roosevelt. “switch in time that saved nine.” quit their jobs to take care of children pandemic, and for millions of parents
The expansion of the court should learning from home. That’s according the choice has boiled down to this:
Size of the Supreme Court not be simply because Democrats do to research by Brevan Howard, an asset Work from home while watching the
not like the fact that President Donald management firm, which says if these kiddos and helping them with school,
In comparison with some other Trump got three nominations. This was workers were counted as unemployed, or give up the job, the paycheck and the
countries, our court is pint size. Indeed, always the risk for a number of aging they would add 2.6 percentage points career.
it is demonstrably and dysfunctionally justices. In 2017, I wrote that Ginsburg to the unemployment rate, now stand- Betsey Stevenson, an economist at
too small. Moreover, unlike the consid- (who was the oldest member of the ing at 8.4%. the University of Michigan, writes that
erable thought put into all of our other court and long battled cancer) was tak- Some perspective: President Donald many workers could wind up dropping
major institutions, the size of the Su- ing a huge gamble with her legacy by Trump inherited a jobless rate of 4.7%. out of the labor force permanently, in-
preme Court was arrived at by virtual not allowing President Barack Obama flicting economic damage that might
accident. The Constitution does not set to appoint her successor. Fewer paychecks, less spending endure for years: As a result, “long-
the size of the court. Before Ginsburg died, nine nomina- term unemployment grows over time,
The first Supreme Court had just six tions had occurred in election years Like a stone thrown into a pond, and labor force participation falls slow-
justices, and when it convened in 1790 since 1900, and Ginsburg herself said in when you take 4.3 million workers out ly as unemployed workers give up and
at the Royal Exchange Building in New 2016 that the Senate had to do its “job” of the labor force, the ripples spread far leave the labor force and those consid-
York, only four bothered to show up. and vote on such nominations because and wide. Even if partially cushioned ering whether to enter or reenter the la-
Over history, the size of the court has “there’s nothing in the Constitution by jobless benefits, it’s 4.3 million few- bor market become discouraged about
fluctuated. Justices once “rode circuit” that says the president stops being er paychecks, 4.3 million fewer people the prospect of finding work.”
and sat as judges in lower courts, so president in his last year.” spreading those dollars around in an
when Congress added a circuit, it It does not mean that the Democrats economy that is about 70% dependent Beyond the economy
would add a justice. When a 10th Cir- are wrong in calling out the hypocrisy on consumer spending. This, in turn,
cuit was added in 1863, a 10th justice of Republicans who opposed any vote puts economic pressure on businesses. Meanwhile, other long-term eco-
was added. In 1869, however, Congress in 2016 (or conversely Republicans Some might be forced to cut back, and nomic damage is harder to quantify,
set the court at nine members. quoting Democrats who insisted that the ripples keep spreading. such as an alarming report from the
That’s it. No deliberative debate. No election year nominations are entirely Then there is this: Millions of idled Centers for Disease Control and Pre-
historical or political analysis. More appropriate in 2016). workers means payroll taxes aren’t be- vention saying that as many as 1 in 4
thought went into the size of the Con- Senators can vote against the nomi- ing collected — which is how Social Se- people ages 18-24 have seriously con-
sumer Financial Protection Bureau nee on any ground, including the tim- curity and Medicare are financed. The sidered suicide as the pandemic grinds
than the size of the U.S. Supreme Court. ing. However, nomination is still a con- nonpartisan Congressional Budget of- on. Mental health effects like this will
Notably, most of the other countries stitutional prerogative being exercised fice said recently that so much damage be felt years into the future.
with substantially larger courts have for the 10th time in an election. It is no has been done already this year, the So- Eventually, there will be a vaccine.
them to avoid the persistent problem of excuse to call for the packing of a court cial Security Trust Fund is projected to But certainly not by Election Day, as the
our nation’s highest court in becoming and destroying decades of tradition. It run out by 2031. That’s several years president keeps hinting. He hasn’t a
practically a court of one with a swing is the political equivalent of the Viet- earlier than forecast just months ago. clue. This is the same guy who thought
justice. My proposal was to increase nam War goal of destroying a village to Inexplicably, Trump said on Aug. 8 it was OK to inject people with bleach or
the court to 17 or 19 members (the larger save it. that he wants to kill the payroll tax fi- household disinfectants. Who turned
option allows for the possible return to The Supreme Court will not be saved nancing for these critical social safety to a kooky pillow manufacturer for sci-
the tradition of two justices sitting on by packing it. net programs altogether. ence advice. Who called the CDC direc-
lower courts each year by rotation). My tor “confused” for saying that masks
review of similar size courts (including Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Pro- Cases even before school were a powerful tool against COVID-19
appellate courts sitting “en banc”) fessor of Public Interest Law at George and that a vaccine would not be widely
shows less stagnation around a single Washington University and a member Trump says schools should be open available for another year.
jurist as the swing vote and greater in- of USA TODAY’s Board of Contributors. so many parents can go back to work. I Even when a vaccine arrives — and
empathize with this sentiment. Even what a joyous day that should be — the
so, a joint study by the American Acad- scars will not heal instantly.
emy of Pediatrics and the Children’s It will take years for the effects of
Hospital Association reported this this coronavirus, intertwined and de-
month that more than half a million structive, to go away.
children across the United States have
been diagnosed with COVID-19. Half a Paul Brandus is the founder and
million. Over the summer. While most White House bureau chief of West Wing
were staying home. Reports. His latest book, published last
What happens if those more than month, is “Jackie: Her Transformation
half a million children go back to class- from First Lady to Jackie O.”
rooms that may be overcrowded? And
spend all day in a school that might not, WANT TO COMMENT?Have Your Say at
[email protected], @usatodayopinion on
because of budget problems, have the
Twitter and facebook.com/usatodayopinion.
necessary safeguards in place? Comments are edited for length and clarity. Con-
Trump’s point on this is worthy — I tent submitted to USA TODAY may appear in print,
Draped in honor of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. don’t say that too often — but the health digital or other forms. For letters, include name,
address and phone number. Letters may be mailed
FRED SCHILLING/COLLECTION OF THE SUPREME COURT concerns are as well. And not just for to 7950 Jones Branch Drive, McLean, VA, 22108.
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8A ❚ TUESDAY,SEPTEMBER 22,2020 ❚ USA TODAY NEWS
McMaster warns of risk of another Sept. 11
Ex-security adviser’s
State Hillary Clinton.
book talks Trump, policy McMaster said the U.S. has not done
enough to punish Russia for its med-
dling in the 2016 presidential election,
Deirdre Shesgreen and he writes extensively about Mos-
USA TODAY cow’s ambitions to undermine the Unit-
ed States and other Western democra-
WASHINGTON – President Donald cies.
Trump’s former national security advis- He said Trump is hardly the only
er, H.R. McMaster, said U.S.-backed president guilty of underestimatingPu-
peace talks in Afghanistan are doomed tin. He said there’s a pattern across
to end in “failure” and warned the risk of three administrations – from George W.
another 9/11-style attack on America is Bush to Obama to Trump – of wishful
“very high.” thinking that “Putin is going to change.”
The U.S. is “in many ways more at Asked about Trump’s praise for Putin
risk today than we were on Sept. 10, and his refusal to take the threat of Rus-
2001,” McMaster told USA TODAY in the sian aggression more seriously, McMas-
first print interview for his new book, ter said: “I can’t really explain it.”
“Battlegrounds: The Fight to Defend the “... President Trump says things that
Free World.” ... I think are overly generous, to put it
In a wide-ranging conversation, mildly, toward a very hostile leader,” he
McMaster lamented the politicization of said.
the military, said the Trump administra- McMaster declined to weigh in on the
tion has mishandled the coronavirus Ukraine impeachment scandal but said
pandemic and expressed grave concern he never heard Trump pressure foreign
about a “destructive cycle” in American leaders for political favors.
politics that has weakened the country. He did, however, hear from the presi-
“We’re creating this destructive cycle dent’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani,
and these centripetal forces that are who led the campaign to pressure Uk-
pulling us apart from each other,” said rainian leaders to dig up dirt on Trump’s
the former Army lieutenant general. Democratic rival, Joe Biden.
“We’re forgetting who we are as Amer- McMaster said he had contact with
icans.” President Trump replaced national security Adviser H.R. McMaster with former Giuliani on “a few occasions” while he
McMaster served as Trump’s second ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton on March 22, 2018.SUSAN WALSH/AP was Trump’s national security adviser.
national security adviser, appointed to But he declined to say why Giuliani ap-
the job in February 2017 after Lt. Gen. proached him, whether he found those
Michael Flynn was fired for lying about particularly women. contacts inappropriate or if he raised
his contacts with the Russian ambassa- “What (does) power-sharing with the any concerns to others in the Trump ad-
dor. Flynn had served in the post less Taliban look like?” he asked. “Does that “We’re creating this ministration.
than a month, and McMaster said the look like ... every other girls’ school bull- He said Trump cast a wide net when
destructive cycle and these
White House was not the “well-oiled dozed? Or does it look like mass execu- it came to seeking outside advice, and
machine” the president claimed when tions in the soccer stadium every other centripetal forces that are he saw it as his job to “just grab that ad-
he arrived. Saturday?” vice” and put it in context “so that there
But his book is not a dramatic tell-all “ ... We’ve created this idea that the pulling us apart from each weren’t end runs around the system
documenting his 13 months in the White Taliban can be partners for peace when that would do the president disservice.”
other.”
House. McMaster said he had no desire in fact, they’re determined to establish
to write another “palace intrigue” mem- an Islamic caliphate in Afghanistan and H.R. McMaster,on the state of politics ‘I will never endorse anybody’
oir. Instead, he offers a thoughtful cri- to use that Islamic caliphate as a base
tique of U.S. foreign policy and a re- for expansion,” McMaster said. McMaster left the White House in
strained assessment of Trump’s ap- He predicted the effort will result in or statements.” March 2018 on relatively amicable
proach to North Korea, Afghanistan and failure and leave the United States in- In the book, he recounts Trump’s off- terms, with hardliner John Bolton lined
other global hotspots. creasingly vulnerable – not just to al- handed comment about the war in Af- up to succeed him.
He says Trump saw a summit with Qaida but also to the Islamic State and ghanistan. “I could win that war in a McMaster said Washington and the
Kim Jong Un as “irresistible.” He said he other virulently anti-American terrorist week. I just don’t want to kill 10 million White House had become “toxic,” noting
“can’t really explain” why Trump seems groups. The threat is wider now, he said, people.” that he had been targeted by alt-right
so deferential to Russian President Vla- and those groups are more capable. McMaster says that belied a misun- activists who saw him as a globalist and
dimir Putin. He won’t say if he supports Compounding the problem: “There is derstanding about the conflict and an obstacle to their agenda. The accusa-
a second Trump term. a very strong sentiment in the United “cheapened” the sacrifices made by tions against him ran the gamut, from
“I’m determined, even in retirement, States across both political parties to both American and Afghan soldiers who being a puppet of billionaire philanthro-
not to be dragged into partisan politics,” disengage from these complex prob- lost their lives in the war. pist George Soros to being soft on Iran
he said. lems ... overseas,” he said. He said Trump’s photo-op at La- and terrorism.
Indeed, McMaster takes pains in his He demurred when asked if the fayette Square – in which peaceful pro- Meanwhile, his main client, the
book not to attack Trump too directly or Trump administration made a mistake testers were dispersed so Trump could president, reportedly grew tired of
too harshly, and in the interview, he tip- in dismantling a pandemic prepared- pose with a Bible in front of a historic McMaster’s detailed briefings – cutting
toed around some of the most nettle- ness office, which the Obama admini- church near the White House – was a them short or trying to avoid themalto-
some issues confronting the White stration added to the National Security “mistake” because it cast the military in gether, according to a 2018 Washington
House right now. He says the Obama ad- Council as a response to Ebola. a political role and made it seems as if Post story.
ministration and other presidents also (McMaster’s successor, John Bolton, U.S. troops were being used against the But McMaster expressed no regrets
engaged in what he calls “strategic nar- disbanded that unit as part of a broader protesters. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs about his time in the White House. And
cissism,” in which they base foreign pol- streamlining effort.) of Staff Mark Milley and Defense Secre- he declined to say whether he thought
icy decisions more on hopes and dreams Still, McMaster said Trump’s instinct tary Mark Esper joined Trump in walk- Trump deserves a second term or not.
than on reality. to downplay the virus did not make ing along a path cleared by police and McMaster said he has never voted
But McMaster makes clear he dis- sense. National Guard forces. because of a desire to remain devoutly
agreed with some of the president’s de- “In my experiences as a military But McMaster said Trump’s critics apolitical, and “I will never endorse any-
cisions – such as withdrawing from the commander, the more you tell your sol- have also seized on the incident for po- body.”
Paris climate accords and negotiating diers about even the most dangerous litical gain. No matter who is elected in Novem-
with the Taliban, which he says was mission, it’s going to allay their con- “It’s regrettable that the military is ber, the next president will face an un-
based on a “fantasy” and “wishful cerns, and it’s going to encourage them being drug into partisan politics, and we paralleled threat from within, he said.
thinking” that the militant Islamic to take initiative,” he said. The COVID-19 have to be really careful and we have to “Whether it’s President Trump or
group would renounce its ties to al-Qai- response is “probably one of the biggest be really responsible, across both politi- President Biden, I’m worried about
da, which orchestrated the 9/11 attacks. shortcomings” of the Trump admini- cal parties, to prevent that from hap- what we’re going to do to ourselves,” he
stration. pening,” McMaster said. said. “It seems to me like we’ve lost the
‘Mass executions ... every other ability to empathize with one another.
Saturday?’ Trump ‘not hesitant to disparage Trump’s affinity for Putin? ‘I can’t And I think if empathy is over, we’re go-
anybody’ really explain it.’ ing to have a very difficult time really
The Trump administration brokered understanding who we are as a people”
a peace deal with the Taliban in Febru- McMaster, who won a Silver Star in McMaster’s tenure was not as tumul- and restoring civility and repairing de-
ary, agreeing to a timetable for U.S. 1991 for valor during the ground phase of tuous as that of other administration of- mocracy.
troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. In the first Gulf War, said he never heard ficials who have rotated through the He said the U.S. faces a triple crisis
exchange, the Taliban promised to sever Trump disparage U.S. troops during his White House. But he did get crosswise right now with COVID-19, the recession
its ties with al-Qaida and keep the coun- time in the White House and couldn’t with Trump early on, after he told a na- and the racial injustice “laid bare by the
try from reverting to a terrorist haven. comment on an Atlantic magazine re- tional security conference in Munich murder of George Floyd.” Russia, China
The Taliban is now negotiating with the port that he denigrated World War I sol- there was “incontrovertible” evidence and other rivals perceive the U.S. as
Afghan government in the hopes of diers as “suckers” and losers.” of Russian meddling in the 2016 presi- weak right now, and they’re using that
crafting a power-sharing agreement. But “he’s not hesitant to disparage dential election. opening to act more aggressively re-
McMaster said the U.S. deal will sim- anybody” who he sees as unsupportive, Trump quickly chided him via Twit- gionally and globally.
ply allow the Taliban to expand its terri- the retired three-star general added. ter: “General McMaster forgot to say “That argues for continued engage-
tory and establish an Islamic caliphate “ ... The president’s very brash and that the results of the 2016 election were ment (around the world) because as
and a terrorist training ground. And he unconventional. And I was OK with not impacted or changed by the Rus- we’ve learned with COVID-19, if you
ridiculed the idea of a power-sharing that. I mean, I don’t agree with much of sians and that the only Collusion was don’t address a problem overseas and
agreement, saying it will pave the way what the president says,” he said. “I re- between Russia and Crooked H, the contain it, once it reaches our shores,
for the Taliban to reimpose its brutally gret some things he says, but I didn’t see DNC and the Dems,” he said, using a de- the cost can become very difficult to
repressive laws on the Afghan people – it as my job to be the arbiter of his tweets risive nickname for former Secretary of bear,” he said.
Woman linked to White House ricin package arrested
Kevin Johnson tercepted in the past week, said the offi- cials. According to the Centers for Dis- rector Christopher Wray, CIA Director
USA TODAY cial who is not authorized to comment ease Control and Prevention, exposure Gina Haspel and others.
publicly. to ricin through inhalation, ingestion or In 2001, following the 9/11 attacks,
A woman suspected of sending a The letter was believed to have been injection can lead to death. another form of bio-terrorism shook the
package containing the poison ricin to mailed from Canada, the official said. In 2018, a federal grand jury returned country when letters containing an-
the White House has been arrested at In a weekend statement, the FBI de- a seven-count indictment against a thrax were sent to congressional and
the U.S.-Canada border, a law enforce- scribed the missive as “a suspicious let- Utah man, alleging that he threatened media offices.
ment official said. ter received at a U.S. government mail Trump and other administration offi- Those attacks killed five people and
The suspect was taken into custody facility.” cials in letters, some of which contained sickened more than a dozen others.
by U.S. Customs and Border Protection Mail addressed to the White House is the natural ingredients used to make ri- A microbiologist at the Army’s infec-
officers at the Peace Bridge border screened at an off-site location. cin. tious disease laboratory in Fort Detrick,
crossing near Buffalo, New York, and is Ricin, a poison drawn from the husks In that case, a series of suspicious Maryland, Bruce Ivins, committed sui-
expected to face federal charges in con- of castor beans, has surfaced in other letters were addressed to Trump, then- cide in 2008, as federal authorities were
nection with the package which was in- plots targeting Trump and other offi- Defense Secretary James Mattis, FBI Di- preparing to charge him in the attacks.
MONEY+LIFE
The best and worst of
the ‘Pandemmys’ telecast
Kelly Lawler tracks the highlights and lowlights of
USA TODAY|TUESDAY,SEPTEMBER 22,2020|SECTION B an Emmys broadcast like no other. Page 5B
MONEYLINE
The New York Stock Exchange honors
the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth
Bader Ginsburg on Monday.AP
STOCK MARKET TUMBLES
AMID CHINA TENSIONS
Wall Street slumped Monday as mar-
kets tumbled worldwide on worries
about the pandemic’s economic pain,
though the S&P 500 had pared its
losses by the end of the day. The
drops began in Asia as soon as trading
opened for the week, and they accel-
erated in Europe. In the U.S., stocks
and Treasury yields weakened, while
prices sank for oil and other commod-
ities. The S&P 500 fell 38.41 points, or
1.2%, to 3,281.06. But a last-hour
recovery helped the blue chip index
more than halve its loss of 2.7% from
earlier in the day. The Dow Jones In-
dustrial Average fell 509.72, or 1.8%,
to 27,147.70 after coming back from
an earlier 942 point slide. The Nasdaq
composite slipped 14.48 to 10,778.80
after recovering from a 2.5% drop.
MICROSOFT ACQUISITION
GIVES XBOX A BOOST
Microsoft announced Monday it will
acquire ZeniMax Media for $7.5 billion. Jean Benjamin joins jobless airport workers and others at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.GETTY IMAGES
The deal includes Bethesda Softworks,
the Maryland-based publisher that US may fall into recession
works on video game properties in-
cluding Doom, Fallout and The Elder
Scrolls. ZeniMax Media, the parent
company of Bethesda, has more than without help of stimulus
2,300 employees. The deal adds sev-
eral notable video game properties to
bolster the case for an Xbox over So-
ny's rival PlayStation 5.
Economists differ on effect of another federal aid package
FACEBOOK HAS REGISTERED Paul Davidson oned there’s just a slightly better than
2.5 MILLION VOTERS SO FAR USA TODAY 50% chance lawmakers will approve
“The odds are better new relief by the end of September.
Facebook, which pledged to register 4 The U.S. economy is at a cross- In March, the economy sank into its
than even the economy
million voters ahead of the November roads, with some analysts saying a deepest recession since the Great De-
election, says it’s more than halfway to failure by Congress to pass another backslides.” pression as states ordered nonessential
its goal, logging 2.5 million regis- stimulus package, even as the CO- businesses such as restaurants and
trations from Facebook, Instagram VID-19 pandemic continues to spread, Mark Zandi,chief economist, Moody’s Analytics movie theaters to shut down and con-
and Messenger users. The ballot-box would tip the nation back into reces- sumers avoided traveling and public
push already has surpassed the 2 sion. nation would dodge another downturn gathering spots to contain the outbreak.
million new registrations Facebook Lawmakers remain deadlocked even without more assistance, which States are gradually allowing busi-
estimates it racked up in the 2016 and over a measure to provide another would further swell the staggering $26 nesses to reopen and most are reporting
2018 elections, the company said. round of $1,200 checks to most house- trillion national debt. declining rates of new cases. But several
holds and more aid to struggling small “The economy will strengthen and states recently have reached new case
businesses and unemployed Ameri- continue to get better,” says Chris Ed- records, the U.S. death toll is approach-
cans. Most saw the money they re- wards, an economist with the libertar- ing 200,000 and the possibility of a vi-
Dow Jones Industrial Avg. ceived from Congress’s $2.2 trillion ian Cato Institute. “Further deficit-fi- rus flare-up looms this fall.
CARES Act run dry over the summer. nanced stimulus comes at the expense Economists believe the U.S. emerged
30,000
“If they don’t” approve another of higher debt and thus higher taxes and from recession in May and has since re-
28,000 stimulus, “they’re taking a huge risk, a lower standard of living down the couped about half the 22 million jobs
26,000 says Mark Zandi chief economist of road.” lost in the early spring as businesses
Moody’s Analytics. “The odds are bet- Congress has just a few weeks re- have reopened. But experts say recover-
24,000 27,147
ter than even the economy back- maining in its scheduled session ad- ing the rest will be tougher. Many res-
22,000 509.72 slides.” journing ahead of the November elec-
20,000 Some other economists believe the tions. Goldman Sachs recently reck- SeeSTIMULUS,Page2B
18,000
MARCH SEPT.
AP
Here’s why you
MONDAY MARKETS
INDEX CLOSE CHG
Dow Jones Industrial Avg. 27,147.70 y 509.72 are still waiting
S&P 500 3,281.06 y 38.41
Nasdaq composite 10,778.80 y 14.49
T-note, 10-year yield 0.668 y 0.033
for a tax refund
SOURCESUSA TODAY RESEARCH, BLOOMBERG
For most
USA TODAY SNAPSHOTS© people,
after all,
Susan Tompor
tax refund
Columnist
cash has
USA TODAY
come and
gone. They
Come Labor Day and the roll out of
spent that
pumpkin spice lattes at Starbucks,
money
you’d think, maybe, that you’d finally
months
have your hands on your federal in-
ago.
come tax refund.
Treasury rates
For most people, after all, tax refund
cash has come and gone. They spent
Rate Week ago
that money months ago. Others are LET’S MAKE IT HERE.
1 mo. T-bill 0.09% 0.09% waiting and waiting, much like Carol
Wilke who filed a tax return the day af-
3 mo. T-bill 0.10% 0.10%
ter the Super Bowl and still had not
5-yr. T-note 0.27% 0.25% seen her tax refund of $1,406 seven
10-yr. T-note 0.68% 0.67% months later.
The 2020 tax season isn’t running
30-yr. T-bond 1.43% 1.41%
short of frustrating scenarios even as
zekelman.com
Rates as of Monday market close.
ASSOCIATED PRESS SeeREFUNDS,Page2B 20MXZI021-04-144984-10
2B ❚ TUESDAY,SEPTEMBER 22,2020 ❚ USA TODAY MONEY
As pedestrian deaths hit Stimulus
Continued from Page 1B
record, revelations emerge
taurants are running at partial capac-
ity and sectors such as airlines, hotels
and large entertainment venues re-
main depressed amid contagion fears.
Author tracks a safety Some temporary layoffs are becoming
permanent.
crisis of our own making
After contracting at a record 31.7%
annual rate in the second quarter,
Nathan Bomey some economists predict 30% growth
USA TODAY in the July-September period, but that
would still leave the economy short of
It’s an epidemic of a different kind. its pre-pandemic output level.
The nation is grappling with a pedes- The $3.4 trillion HEROES Act,
trian safety crisis that has worsened in passed by the Democratic majority
recent years: The number of pedestri- House, would restore the $600 federal
ans killed in the U.S. hit a 28-year high supplement to weekly unemployment
of 6,283 in 2018, according to the Na- benefits, provide fresh funding for
tional Highway Traffic Safety Admini- small businesses and help cash-
stration. That figure was up 46% from strapped state and local governments.
2010. Republicans have offered alternative
While the crisis stems from many packages, from $300 billion to $1 tril-
factors, a new book brings it into sharp- lion that would include $200 to $400
er focus. Former Streetsblog USA writer in extra jobless benefits, limit aid to
Angie Schmitt’s “Right of Way: Race, small businesses hit with sharp reve-
Class, and the Silent Epidemic of Pedes- nue drops, and offer less money to
trian Deaths in America“ is an exposé Police work the scene of a hit-and-run pedestrian crash in Brockton, Mass., state and local governments.
drawing upon comprehensive reporting in August.MARC VASCONCELLOS/THE ENTERPRISE Many economists figure Congress
to articulate the root causes of a public will compromise on a $1.5 trillion plan,
health crisis. in line with a bill forged by a bipartisan
Schmitt explains how America’s road this thesis is hard to come by, in part be- all of the city’s streetlights, Detroit’s group of House lawmakers.
infrastructure, automotive industry cause of insufficient police reporting. pedestrian death rate fell by 40% in
and car culture collectively create dan- “Traffic safety officials rely on police two years, according to the book. Stimulus would juice growth
gerous conditions for walkers and bicy- reports to identify and correctly report
clists. instances of distraction –and many po- Drivers less likely to stop With a stimulus of that size, the
“If we analyze these patterns, they lice departments’ crash reports still do for people of color economy would grow 3.5% in the 12
tell us very clearly that pedestrian not contain a standard reporting mech- months ending in September 2021 and
deaths are not just random acts of God anism for cellphone distraction,” ac- Multiple studies have concluded generate 2 million jobs in that period,
or bad luck, nor are they the result of in- cording to the book. that drivers don’t stop for pedestrians pushing down the 8.4% unemploy-
dividual decision-making or laziness But virtually everyone uses their who are trying to cross intersections ment rate to 8.2%, Zandi estimates.
(although both bad luck and bad deci- phone while driving. On the whole, with no traffic lights or stop signs. Without any stimulus, he says the
sions often play a role),” Schmitt writes. smartphone owners physically handle But they’re much more likely to stop economy would grow just 1.1% over the
“Pedestrian deaths are part of a system- their devices during 88% of their trips, for white people than for Black people. next year and create no new net jobs as
ic problem with systemic causes.” averaging 3.5 minutes per hour, accord- A 2014 study of behavior in Port- unemployment rises to 10.2%. All the
Here are several key revelations from ing to cellphone tracking data from tech land, Oregon, found that Black pedes- jobs shed in the crisis wouldn’t be re-
“Right of Way”: company Zendrive reported in the book. trians waited 32% longer to cross the covered until early 2025, he estimates.
road and “were passed by twice as More worrisome perhaps is that the
Pedestrians are a nuisance Speed is a big factor in survival many cars,” according to the book. U.S. likely would slip back into a down-
turn in the fourth quarter and first
“In most states, almost every inter- Less than 5% of pedestrians die Lights don’t offer enough time quarter of next year, Zandi says. Such a
section is considered an unmarked when struck by a vehicle traveling less relapse just months into recovery is
crosswalk, meaning that pedestrians than 20 miles per hour. But for those Traffic engineers generally program known as a double-dip recession.
have the legal right to cross there, even if struck by vehicles traveling 40 mph or lights to provide enough time for peo- Gregory Daco, chief U.S. economist
there are no stripes on the road,” more, the risk of death is 65%. ple to cross at a pace of 3.5 feet per sec- of Oxford Economics, has a similar
Schmitt writes. Schmitt says reduced speed limits, ond, according to the book. view, saying a stimulus of at least $1
Yet America’s roads and car culture speed cameras and road design im- But the AARP, the nation’s retiree trillion would increase economic
typically treat pedestrians as a nui- provements are proven ways to improve interest group, has reported that growth by 1.5 percentage points next
sance, she argues. pedestrian safety. “many older people walk closer to year. Without it, he says the economy
three feet per second,” Schmitt notes. would grow at a “stall speed” of about
SUV revolution is a big factor People of color at a greater risk Anyone walking at the pace of an 1% by the end of this year. That means
older person will need 24 seconds to a “shock,” such as another COVID-19
Multiple studies have demonstrated Black, Hispanic and Native American cross a 60-foot-wide street. But wave, could tip the US into recession.
that SUVs are much more likely than pedestrians face a greater risk than they’re typically only given 15 seconds
passenger cars to kill pedestrians when white people of being killed, according to walk across a road of that lengt. Gains could be curtailed
collisions occur, Schmitt said. That real- to the book. Schmitt notes that people of
ity, combined with the significant in- color are more likely to rely on walking News coverage Edwards, the Cato economist, ar-
crease in sales of SUVs over the last sev- as their primary way of getting around gues the benefits of another stimulus
eral years, is contributing to the crisis. and are more likely to use mass transit. Journalists often fail to pay enough that largely juices consumer spending
One of the main reasons is that SUVs Those factors alone aren’t enough to attention to road conditions and other would be limited because of “supply
are more likely to hit pedestrians in the explain why people of color face a great- factors that contribute to pedestrian constraints” during the pandemic. In
torso, while cars are more likely to hit er risk on the road, though. collisions when reporting about those other words, many restaurants, for ex-
pedestrians in the legs. One study, for “It’s likely that they’re walking in en- situations, Schmitt argues. ample, aren’t fully open and many
example, found that large SUVs cause vironments where the conditions are Schmitt cites a study that “found businesses can’t hire enough workers
about 110 deaths per 1,000 pedestrian riskier, where the streets are designed that when the pedestrian was cen- because parents are home with their
collisions, compared with 45 deaths with higher speeds and more lanes to tered in the description of events –‘Pe- kids while schools are still closed.
caused by sedans. cross,” University of Wisconsin-Mil- destrian struck and killed on east side’ He’s also concerned about piling on
A 2018 Detroit Free Press/USA TO- waukee professor and pedestrian safety – readers were 30% more likely to a federal deficit that tripled in fiscal
DAY investigation came to the same expert Robert Schneider told the author. blame the pedestrian than when the 2020 to $3.3 trillion because of previ-
conclusion. For example, Detroit, where about 4 driver was centered –‘Driver hits, kills ous pandemic-related aid.
in 5 residents are Black, was the deadli- pedestrian on east side.’” Yet Zandi says now is not the time to
Police aren’t tracking distracted est place in America for pedestrians One improvement that journalists worry about a widening budget gap.
driving adequately when an estimated 40% of its street can make is to stop using the term “ac- “You’ve got to get back to full employ-
lights were not functioning before the cident,” which suggests that there’s no ment and then you deal” with the def-
While experts widely agree that dis- city’s Chapter 9 bankruptcy filing in liability or fault associated with the icit, he says, noting a better economy
tracted driving is likely a factor in in- 2013. situation, according to the book. In- will generate more revenue for the fed-
creased pedestrian deaths, data proving After finishing an initiative to replace stead, they should use “collision.” eral government.
Refunds processing paper tax returns due to lim- “A very helpful woman there re- less out of this jumbled tax season?
ited staffing. If you already filed a paper searched our account and found our re- In a report to Congress in late June,
return, we will process it in the order we turn was never received,” said Wilke, 73, the National Taxpayer Advocate Service
Continued from Page 1B received it. Do not file a second tax re- who is retired after 23 years of working disclosed that “taxpayers who filed a
turn or contact the IRS about the status for Boise State University. 2019 paper return and are entitled to re-
the calendar inches closer to 2021. CO- of your return.” Wilke said the IRS representative funds may be in for a long wait.”
VID-19 shutdowns threw a monkey The IRS noted: “To protect the public told her that the couple’s tax return The reason? IRS processing centers
wrench into the tax system. and employees, and in compliance with probably got misplaced at either the were closed at the end of March to miti-
And some, such as those who filed orders of local health authorities around post office or at the IRS when it finally gate the spread of COVID-19, and overall
paper tax returns, faced way more head- the country, certain IRS services such as got delivered. staffing was limited.
aches and confusion than others as live assistance on telephones, process- Wilke said the woman advised her to As of May 16, the National Taxpayer
piles and piles of paperwork sit un- ing paper tax returns and responding to refile and that the IRS is recommending Advocate Service report noted, the IRS
touched. correspondence continue to be ex- that some others do the same if they’ve estimated that it had a backlog of 4.7
At one point, the IRS needed to move tremely limited.” not heard a word about their return or million paper returns.
a lot of unopened mail into trailers as cannot track a refund via the IRS The IRS had expected to process 10.2
processing centers were shut down dur- One reader shares her frustration “Where’s My Refund?” tool. million paper returnsby late May, com-
ing the pandemic. Wilke tried to file electronically. But pared with 130.6 million e-filed returns.
Households facing job losses and fi- Wilke emailed me the day after Labor she wanted to file the new 1040-SR form As of May 22, the IRS had processed
nancial stress in 2020 only feel more ag- Day after reading my column in her local for seniors and couldn’t do it electron- 2.7 million paper returns, down 73%
gravation when they can’t depend on a paper, the Idaho Press. ically. So she’s going to mail in a new from projections, and 117 million e-filed
four-figure income tax refund arriving I responded immediately by suggest- form. returns, down 10% from projections.
on time. ing that she contact the IRS National “We’re going to mail it certified mail – The extension of the tax deadline to
Taxpayer Advocate Service at 877-777- and you cross your fingers because the July 15 from April 15 may have contrib-
What should you do? 4778. post office is under attack from the fed- uted to some confusion and delays.
Wilke told me that she called the eral government,” she said. On top of that, the IRS has been ad-
Mixed messages fill the air, much like number and waited 30 minutes or so on dressing the rollout of stimulus checks.
autumn leaves, when it comes to what hold. But then she was transferred to a Paper returns remain in limbo The National Taxpayer Advocate Ser-
to do about getting your tax refund. customer service line at the IRS and vice began working in August with the
The Internal Revenue Service has ac- waited another 30 minutes. The paper return situation is clearly a IRS to address a variety of cases where
knowledged delays involving the filing Overall, though, she was fairly happy mess. there have been delays receiving Eco-
of paper returns as a result of what it and hopeful that she and her husband It may be best to make a call or two nomic Impact Payments.
calls “COVID-19 mail processing delays.” Martin could be on a better track to see- before just throwing up your hands, So perhaps, it shouldn’t be too sur-
As of an Aug. 31 update, the IRS states ing their $1,406 federal income tax re- though, and sending in a second return. prising that we’re still hearing about tax
online: “We’re experiencing delays in fund one day. But, really, would we expect anything refund delays.