THREAD: Why did the US run out of masks, gloves and sanitizer as COVID-19 swept the country?

@AP’s @JulietLinderman and @MendozaMartha spent seven months investigating the collapse of medical supply chains with @frontlinepbs and @GlobalRepCentre

apne.ws/1xStdEI
Remember March? As American hospitals ran out of tests, masks and gowns, President Trump suggested states try the open market .

Governors panicked.

Infection spread, largely unchecked.

@AP found Chinese exports had stalled.

2/7

apne.ws/TFXEJtj
Just when they were needed most, Malaysian factories supplying the US with medical gloves dropped to half-capacity. The industry is plagued with labor abuses.

3/7
apne.ws/VYYsH11
@AP As the first shipments of N95 medical grade masks finally reached the U.S., reporters @JulietLinderman and @MendozaMartha noticed one shipment had ear loops instead of head bands, a tell-tale sign of counterfeits.

4/7
apne.ws/nj1FTxD
Untested, unapproved, and without a factory of their own. The U.S. government made a big gamble on start-up injection device for COVID-19 vaccines, @AP @frontlinepbs and @GlobalRepCentre reported

5/7

apne.ws/iw91jek
Why are there still N95 shortages? The Trump administration hasn’t made long-term investments in meltblown textile, the key ingredient for the masks.

6/7

apne.ws/ykZ4N1M
When the coronavirus hit the U.S., countless Americans were left unprotected amid a desperate shortage of PPE. There still isn’t enough.

Read more in today's investigation from @AP, @frontlinepbs and @GlobalRepCentre.

7/7

apne.ws/ZTzEBIo

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More from @AP

6 Oct
THREAD: Once firmly in Republican control, suburbs are increasingly politically divided. As such, they are poised to decide not just who wins the White House this year but also who controls the Senate. apne.ws/TZM6hjE
The reasons for the shift are many. Suburbs have grown more racially diverse, more educated, more economically prosperous and more liberal — all factors making them more likely to vote Democratic.
Demographers and political scientists are just as likely to point to another trend: density. Suburbs have grown more crowded, looking more and more like cities and voting like them, too.
Read 4 tweets
22 Aug
Schools across the U.S. are facing shortages and long delays in getting this year’s most crucial back-to-school accessory: laptops. apne.ws/inbroyV
As millions of American kids start the school year virtually, school districts are facing a laptop shortage and long delays in orders, particularly for the low-cost Chromebooks popular in K-12 schools across the country.
The world’s three biggest computer companies, Lenovo, HP and Dell, have told school districts they have a shortage of nearly 5 million laptops, in some cases exacerbated by Trump administration sanctions on Chinese suppliers.
Read 8 tweets
7 Aug
Today's U.S. jobs report shows that hiring is weakening. It suggests continued high unemployment and reduced household incomes through the November election. Most experts are warning of a slow economic recovery. apne.ws/kKEP9qN
As Congress battles for a new relief package, those left unemployed wonder where to go from here.

"I’m quite reliant on that extra $600,” said John Brenner, who was laid off from his job. “The anxiety the Senate is giving me isn’t helping much.”
apne.ws/2lP6Mg2
Some experts predict that up to 40 percent of lost jobs since the #pandemic will be permanent. As they navigate laid-off limbo, many are wondering when their lives will get back to normal — and what life will look like on the way. apne.ws/NZZjMHt
Read 6 tweets
28 Jul
THREAD: This past weekend @AP reporters were both with protesters and federal agents documenting the chaotic fight in Portland, Oregon, that has become an unlikely centerpiece in the protests gripping America. apne.ws/FCHbRrr
Federal agents are under order to protect a federal courthouse, a stately building that now looks like a feudal castle under siege. apne.ws/9yJeMtO
@AP To the protesters, the men inside the courthouse are at best thoughtless political minions, at worst murderous henchmen. To the agents inside, the demonstrators who come out at night to lob bricks are violent anarchists. apne.ws/2BvC0wU
Read 7 tweets
8 Jul
As the pandemic deepens in Texas, @AP spent a day at a Houston hospital inundated by coronavirus patients. apne.ws/xPbNybH
Texas is seeing a surge in the number of people testing positive for the coronavirus since it began aggressively loosening restrictions on gatherings in May. It surpassed 10,000 new confirmed cases in a single day Tuesday. apne.ws/FbyUseD
@AP "We’re going to get into situations like Italy did, like Spain did, like New York did just a couple of months ago,” said Dr. Joseph Varon, board chairman at United Memorial Medical Center, a small north Houston hospital. apne.ws/efk5ri9
Read 6 tweets
18 Jun
THREAD: Juneteenth is usually marked with a cookout, a parade, a community festival, or a soulful rendition of “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing.”

This year, #Juneteenth is a day of protest.

Read more from @aaronlmorrison and @kat__stafford
#Juneteenth, the holiday celebrating the day that all enslaved black people learned they had been freed, will be marked with marches and demonstrations, along with expressions of black joy in spite of an especially traumatic time.

apne.ws/Qwb2Ahr
@AP “This is one of the first times since the ’60s, where the global demand, the intergenerational demand, the multiracial demand is for systemic change,” said Cornell University professor Noliwe Rooks, a segregation expert.
Read 10 tweets

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