AitN: April 13, 2020

On April 9, the Associated Press featured Jonathan Lemire ’01’s article “As pandemic deepens, Trump cycles through targets to blame.” Lemire, AP’s White House reporter, writes: “Trump has transformed the daily White House coronavirus task force briefing into a substitute for his canceled rallies, treating the James S. Brady briefing room like a stage in Ohio, Florida or Wisconsin. He has sparred with reporters, mangled facts and, at times, distanced himself from the advice of his own public health team.”

The American Public Media Group announced on April 8 that Duchesne Drew ’89 will be the next president of Minnesota Public Radio. From the press release: “Duchesne has a wonderful ability to connect with people and welcome new ideas. He brings passion and curiosity about how MPR can serve our audiences even better.”

Dr. George Yancopoulos ’80, GSAS’86, PS’87, president and chief scientific officer of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, sat down with CBS Evening News host Norah O’Donnell on April 7 to discuss his company’s efforts to combat the pandemic. The Q&A, “Biotech company’s chief scientific officer talks timeline for possible coronavirus treatments,” explores Regeneron’s work to develop the use of antibody drugs to fight coronavirus.

Michael Waldman ’82, president of the Brennan Center for Justice, was featured in the April 7 CNN.com article “A pandemic primary in Wisconsin offers glimpse into voting rights fight ahead.” From the article, which focuses on the difficulties faced in the recent Wisconsin primary vote: “Waldman, whose organization has pushed the federal government to spend $2 billion to prepare states to administer the November election during the pandemic, said one of his biggest concerns is that some epidemiologists believe the virus could be seasonal and return in the fall. ‘Unless we want to operate under the assumption that this will all go away, we have to prepare,’ Waldman said. ‘If we as a country don’t take action, there could be 50 Wisconsins in November. ... What Wisconsin shows is if we don’t act, it will be very hard to have an election where everyone can participate in November.’”

The Cleveland Foundation announced that Eric Foner ’63, GSAS’69, the DeWitt Clinton Professor Emeritus of History, will receive the lifetime achievement award at the 85th annual Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards. From the press release: “The Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards is the only national juried prize for literature that confronts racism and explores diversity." The awards ceremony will be on October 1.