This young woman created a Covid-19 inspired dress for a scholarship entry.

Excerpt from article: Weekends used to have a rhythm that worked for Ezina LeBlanc, filled with adventures for her 19-month-old twins in Calabasas, California. “Every Saturday, we’d be off to the beach, hiking, a picnic, a museum, a theme park, or even up to Mammoth Lakes to ski,” she recalls.

Excerpt from article: Now, nearly 2,000 people in and around Leticia are sick with COVID-19. About 70 have died. That might not sound like a colossal death toll at first. But because the surrounding state of Amazonas is sparsely populated, this amounts to the highest per-capita death rate in all of Colombia, according to figures from Colombia's Health Ministry.

Excerpt for article: A group of New York City emergency medical service workers who gave interviews to the news media, including NPR, are suing the city for allegedly retaliating against them after speaking about their experiences responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Excerpt from article: JEFFERSON CITY — The majority of youth housed at a state facility in north St. Louis have tested positive for COVID-19, the Missouri Department of Social Services said Tuesday.

Excerpt from article: When Dr. Li Wenliang died of COVID-19 several weeks after the Chinese whistleblower tried to warn the world about the coronavirus, his family was expecting to grow in the coming months. Now his widow, Fu Xuejie, has welcomed their second child, a boy, to the world without him.

Excerpt from article: The US hit over 2 million confirmed cases of Covid-19 late on Wednesday night, just 6 weeks after it reached the grim milestone of 1 million cases. While this past week has seen some of the lowest nationwide death tolls since late March, certain parts of the country are experiencing record hospitalizations and new hotspots have emerged.

As an educator this quite hit me hard. The image is a protester wearing a blue mask holding a large white sign that reads, “ You Cannot Teach Black Children and Be Silent About the Injustices Against Them.”

Excerpt from article: While COVID-19 was on the minds of nearly all, many — including some medical professionals and public health experts — saw it as a risk worth taking as the country faces "two public health crises."

Excerpt from article: Modelers say it's difficult to assess how the protests will influence COVID-19 infections. Because COVID-19 generally has an incubation time of up to two weeks, public health officials think it will take a couple of weeks before they see the impact.

As a Millennial this is a hard pill to swallow. We now know that lifetime wealth for millennial was affected greatly by the 2008 recession. Can we really recover from a second?

Excerpt from article: New York also does not publicly track pandemic-related leniency requests, despite leading the lawsuit against the EPA. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation suggests that citizens file formal public records requests if they want information about companies that have told the state they cannot comply with environmental rules.

Excerpt from article: A total of 14 states and the US territory of Puerto Rico have recorded their worst week yet for new coronavirus infections, with Texas hitting a record high in Covid-19 hospitalizations, all while restrictions to curb the pandemic are being relaxed across America.

As an educator in California I am eager to know what the final word on reopening will be. These are scary times, especially for educators over 65 or those of us who have pre-existing conditions.

Excerpt from article: As demonstrators flooded streets across America to decry the killing of George Floyd, public health experts watched in alarm - the close proximity of protesters and their failures in many cases to wear masks, along with the police using tear gas, could fuel new transmissions of the coronavirus.

Due to Covid-19 activists are finding creative ways to protest.

Worries of protests causing rising Covid-19 infection. Asks protesters to self-quarantine.

An advice column asking how to handle a young adult who defied his parents to protest.

Excerpt from Article: State and local public health officials are in a tough spot. After months of imposing restrictions to protect their residents from the highly infectious coronavirus—at great cost to families’ livelihoods and the broader economy—they now must balance those efforts with another, equally vital imperative: protecting Americans’ right to gather en masse to protest police brutality and systemic racism.

This article covers so much of what is going on, from protests to Nascar.

Excerpt from article: SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- Protesters going out in the streets to speak up against the death of George Floyd and police brutality in America are being faced with a high stakes choice: stay home amid a global pandemic or walk in solidarity with fellow demonstrators.

From the Cheyenne River Grassroots Collective: Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Cheyenne River Grassroots Collective has documented the following footage at a Keystone XL pipeline man camp that is 1/4 mile north of Phillip, South Dakota. This proposed man camp is less than an hour south of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal reservation border. As you can see, there are over a dozen heavy machinery equipment ready to desecrate Unci Maka. Not to mention, the drug/sex trafficking brought with these man camps... TC Energy is moving rather quickly with pipe transport and reconstruction activities despite a Montana federal judge's ruling to the revocation of permit 12.

Excerpt from press release: WASHINGTON, D.C. – While coronavirus-related research is now in overdrive, most other research has been slowed down or stopped altogether due to pandemic-induced closures of campuses and laboratories. Now, tens of thousands of graduate students, postdocs, principal investigators and other technical support staff are at risk of losing their employment and their work without federal relief. Additionally, with this research stopped, America may lose the benefits that come with new technologies and scientific insights.

It is infuriating to see so many instances of government taking advantage of Covid-19 in order to enact laws that will backtrack any progress made against fossil fuel industry. But honestly, they have done this before and it wont be the last time.

Basic Military Training to resume in second location.

This is a good history lesson comparing 1919 pandemic and social unrest to that of today.

This is a conversation captured about the CHOP stronghold in Seattle.

Communication is difficult for Deaf and Hard of Hearing people.

The deaf, Deaf, HoH community are scrambling to get ahold of these masks with clear windows. It really only helps if everyone were to wear them, or at least family members and people who deal with the public. Also, side note: hearing-impaired is not PC! We prefer to be called HoH. I wish the reporter had done some research.

One of the frustrations amung the deaf/Deaf/HoH communities is the governments communication during a crisis. Several times there is no sign interpreter available on screen while politicians are speaking. Sometimes there is no live CC available. A few times, fake interpreters are speaking gibberish during a live governmental press conference, putting the lives of many in the Deaf community at risk. There are millions of deaf/Deaf/HoH in the U.S. and I feel like the pandemic had swept our needs aside.

The demand for clear facemasks is high right now for both medical professionals and everyday people. It makes me happy to see that people even care that deaf, Deaf, or HoH can communicate. Unfortunately, many of us worry for our health if we were to become sick and need to go into the hospital right now. What about medical error from miscommunication? Pencil and pad of paper seem our best bet to not be misunderstood.

As someone who is Hard of Hearing, I worry about returning to work in the fall. I never realized how much I rely on lip and expression reading before now. With masks and zoom meetings I struggle to understand conversations that normally would be simple. I have hearing aids but unfortunately they do not help much when context clues are deprived. Soft spoken, mumblers, low voices are all drowned out into the background. I search peoples eyes for clues, are they laughing? Are they concerned? In my Deaf and HoH support group the threads are now saturated with frustrated people just venting. Something as simple as a trip to the grocery store now requires a pad and pencil while pointing to the ears repeating, "I cant hear you. Let me write it down. I am Hard of Hearing/Deaf. Sorry. Sorry." While people behind you get irritated. I have thought about getting a neon shirt to wear at the store with the words, "I am Hard of Hearing, I can't hear you!" In zoom meetings I can see peoples faces. It provides context I miss so much. But I have low-frequency hearing loss so the voices of men are blurry at best. Arizona State University has a fantastic disability resource center and they have started providing me with a captioner who attends classes with me and transcribes for me live. I don't always need her but it has been nice not having to message classmates through a class to ask what was missed. This is a new world for many deaf/Deaf/HoH who are my age. We have always had ways to work around our disability. Now masks and technology are depriving us of coping skills we relied on.

Here we have discussion on the first a second wave topics. The second wave of covid was supposed to come after the first wave ended, and would perhaps be less intense. However, due to early reopening the first wave never actually ended in the US. I included this tweet because there seems to be a lot of confusion regarding the first and second waves of covid. Many are talking about the second wave hitting the US now as cases spike, but disregard the fact that cases were never began significantly going down. Therefore, we are still in the first wave. Even in my own personal life, people are confused and mixed up about the first and second waves.

Here we have a tweet discussing one of the may daily life changes that have taken place since covid and lockdown began. In this case, the user talks about how bus travel has changed since lockdown in Berlin. Bus divers in Berlin are now behind plastic sheets and the front doors of buses are no longer used in order to protect drivers. Many bus drivers have gotten sick and died due to the large public interaction their job has. I wanted to put this into the archive because it is a simple example of how covid has altered society and daily life. Here we have an example of public transportation being altered, likely permanently, in Berlin due to the virus. Between all the headlines and stats are the real life changes everyone sees, and this is one example. I also took note of the fact that Europe is still in their first lockdown, while we here in America are wondering if there will be a second lockdown since the first one has essentially over for weeks.

This viral tweet presents the pro mask side of the mask debate that is taking place in the US. Many anti mask rallies and protests have taken place in recent days to protest health mandates requiring masks in public to prevent virus spread. On the other hand, many people support the mask mandates and argue the anti maskers are the reason for the spike in cases. Here we have a service employ who is required to wear a mask for her job highlighting that wearing a mask to the grocery store is easier than wearing a mask for eight hours like all service workers must do. I chose to include this tweet because it presents the pro mask side of the mask debate. Unlike other countries, the US has had large anti mask and anti health guidelines protests from those on the right wing who feel their rights are being violated. I felt this was quite a uniquely American thing, and so included it in the archive.

Trump shifts narrative from cases going down to mortality rate dropping as US hits new daily case record. The President also highlights the "economy roaring back" as the nation reopens and notes that "embers will be put out" in regard to flare ups. Trump also highlights that there will be no second lock down in America. I felt this tweet was important mainly for the narrative shift and the no second lockdown decision. I have noticed a new pattern emerge in government discussion of the pandemic in that the narrative has been switched to focusing on the low mortality rate to reconcile with the massive spike in cases. This new tone differs from the previous one which focused on the low case count when the cases were much lower. However, the most important part of the tweet was the assurance of no second lockdown. This has large scale implications for the short and long term future of the pandemic in the US, like the lessened likelihood of future stimulus checks and other federal assistance and the lessened likelihood of national cases dropping anytime soon.

Viral tweet today highlights the differences in cases between EU nations which were greatly hit by virus early on and the US. The days case increases of 190 for Italy, 81 for France, and 330 for Spain draw a stark contrast to America's over 33,000 new cases for today. The virus first drew mainstream attention in the west once it left China and started affecting western nations. Italy in particular was an early poster country for the pandemic, but now seems quaint compared the the United States. I included this tweet because it essentially sums up the current status of the virus globally. European nations are almost clear of the virus due to strict pandemic guidelines. Meanwhile the United States has taken the opposite approach and any hope for the pandemic being over soon is officially gone. What struck me about this tweet was remembering the public reaction when Italy was the center point of the virus, and the denial of the US ever getting that bad. Now the story of the pandemic has shifted dramatically.

The Washington Post released an article today titled "How Arizona lost control of the epidemic", highlighting the dramatic increase in cases in the state. Governing decisions and lacking health mandates are being pointed to as why the state has become a global hotspot. Cases were quite low early on, as the state participated in the national lockdown. However, as the state as fully reopened cases have skyrocketed. Governor Ducey came out today in a press conference with a notably different attitude than his previous tone of dismissing the spike in cases, declaring the spike in cases unacceptable but declined to provide info on a second lockdown. Arizona's role in the story of this pandemic is becoming clear, and is unfortunately a negative one. I felt as though this article and even just its title describes the current situation in the state. In terms of how the pandemic will be studied, Arizona is currently providing the example of what not to do, as other states and countries provide a more positive example. As an Arizona local this is disturbing to me but not very surprising.

Popular night clubbing area "Old Town" in Scottsdale has been ordered to follow covid protocols when open to lower spread of the virus. Arizona has been fully open for some time now, including night clubs and bars. One popular night club in Old Town, Riot House, has been charged with a misdemeanor for failing to follow health protocols. Fully open close contact businesses like night clubs and bars have been pointed to as to why Arizona cases have spiked in recent weeks. As a student at Arizona State, i personally frequented Old Town and Riot House as many students do, so to see criminal charges being brought against them caught my eye. Although it is unlikely the owners will face serious legal trouble, it is clear they placed profit over health. Places like Riot House and other nightclubs currently open during the pandemic likely served as super spreader hot spots. These hot spots also likely played a large role in why Arizona is currently a global covid hotspot. I personally know many friends and acquaintances who attended night clubs in Old Town and Mill Ave in the previous weeks who have now tested positive for the virus.

Scottsdale councilman Guy Phillips made national headlines today due to his comments at an anti mask rally in Scottsdale. Phillips parroted the popular BLM phrase and George Floyds dying words "I Can't Breathe" in relation to his feelings on being forced to wear a mask. A portion of Americans around the country and here in Arizona have been expressing disdain for new mandates requiring masks in public to prevent further spread of the virus through protests and gatherings. These new mask mandates come as Covid cases spike here in Arizona and across the nation. I found this tweet and the actions of Phillips here to be especially noteworthy due to the complete misunderstanding of not only the public health recommendations regarding masks but also the core message of BLM protestors. This elected official seems to disregard the dying words of Floyd by mimicking them to express his unwillingness to wear a mask, which, to me, seemed absurd. A big part of this stage of Covid in America is both the "giving up" of trying to flatten the curve by many people and government officials and the "anti health mandates" portion of the public and government officials who have turned the virus into some sort of political debate. Phillips exemplifies the latter, and I felt it necessary to include this example as I felt this is a rather uniquely American phenomenon or thought process.

Following Contra Costa County's shelter-in-place orders, local restaurants began offering take-out and delivery options to keep their businesses alive. Many believed this would be the solution to a short term problem only to quickly realize this would be the new reality for months. Danville residents were quick to support local businesses by purchasing gift cards and ordering take-out and delivery. This screenshot shows a photograph of the Mexican food restaurant, Luna Loca. Luna Loca has been in business in Danville, California for 40 years. It is difficult to see a local institution that is typically bustling with customers so quiet. Hopefully their efforts, combined with community support, will allow them to weather the storm of the COVID-19 pandemic.

San Francisco parks are the cultural heart of the city. From Golden Gate Park to Dolores Park to Washington Square Park, each park has a unique personality. On a sunny day, which can be rare in this foggy city by the Bay, parks are typically full of locals sharing picnics, music and lawn games. A day at a San Francisco park when the sun is shining reminds many city dwellers of the reason why they continue to live in a city largely covered in fog for most of the year. As California began to lift the shelter-in-place orders at the end of May, San Francisco residents encountered social distancing circles. These circles were painted on the lawn of San Francisco's most popular parks to remind and encourage visitors to keep their distance from others during the COVID-19 pandemic. Both the San Francisco Chronicle and Reuters chose to highlight social distancing circles in San Francisco's famous Dolores Park. I am at once impressed by the measures the city is taking to encourage social distancing and the apparent respect that park patrons have for the social distancing circles. And also shocked at how many San Francisco residents are choosing to visit parks during a pandemic.

As covid-19 spreads throughout the population of the US several groups have seen it spread rapidly through their population. One such group are inmates at correctional facilities (jails, prison, detention centers). The disease spreads very quickly because social distancing is nearly impossible, facilities are overcrowded, and soap and cleaning supplies are in short supply. Advocates and families argue that it is imperative inmates that are not a threat to the public should be released early or allowed to continue serving their sentences under house arrest. This document was published by Amend. Amend is a University of California San Francisco program that “works to transform correctional culture inside prisons and jails and reduce the debilitating health effects of those environments.”

This article, written by three University of California professors, highlights the racial justice crisis inside US prisons. Due to their architecture and systems corrections facilities find it nearly impossible to keep covid-19 out or slow the spread of the disease. In California the incarcerated populations rate of covid is 650 percent higher than that of the general population of the state. Once introduced into a facility covid spreads rapidly due to overcrowding, lack of ability to social distance, and a shortage of soap and other cleaning supplies. While many people in the general public feel that inmates chose to commit a crime and therefor should do their time others argue that they should not be made to die for their crimes due to covid.

As inmates across the US die, many families are not sure if they have died from covid-19 because inmates are not being tested and finding out after the inmate passes requires families to pay out of pocket for an autopsy. This video follows families in New Jersey, a state whose prison population has been hit hard by covid-19. Covid has shed a light on many inequities across American society and the inequities suffered by inmates and families are terrible in normal times but are even worse due to the pandemic.

Father, Scott Heshinger, expresses his fear of his son dying in prison from covid-19 in a video he posted on Twitter. He brings to light the conversation that is happening among many. The question becomes is it fair or even humane for someone who has been sentenced to spend time in prison end up dying from covid-19? Some have suggested releasing inmates early or moving them from correctional facilities to house arrest. While others argue this puts public safety in jeopardy.

Politician Mitt Romney joins in protests. I am weary when a high profile politician joins protests. Are they genuine? Or is this some sort of political move?

A rare Inflammatory Syndrome presents in children with Covid-19.

The article gives an important history lesson on Civil Rights in America.

As an educator I worry what next year will look like for us.