Why Hurricane Laura could be a COVID-19 disaster

+ red flags in FDA's emergency approval US Edition - Today's top story: Hurricanes and wildfires are colliding with the COVID-19 pandemic – and compounding the risks [View in browser]( US Edition | 27 August 2020 [The Conversation]( Academic rigor, journalistic flair Where do you go when a dangerous hurricane is coming, yet the safest-looking cities are struggling with outbreaks of COVID-19? Over half a million people faced that question before Hurricane Laura began pounding the Louisiana and Texas coasts. Texas A&M professor Ali Mostafavi and his UrbanResilience.AI lab mapped the disaster and pandemic vulnerabilities of counties all along the East Coast. He explains the [compounding risks people face as they prepare for a hurricane in the midst of a pandemic](. Also today: - [Not all local election offices ready for mail-in voting]( - [Defining Trump's foreign policy]( - [Religious tourism down during pandemic]( Stacy Morford General Assignments Editor Evacuations during Hurricane Laura could increase the risk of exposure to COVID-19. AP Photo/Gerald Herbert [Hurricanes and wildfires are colliding with the COVID-19 pandemic – and compounding the risks]( Ali Mostafavi, Texas A&M University Disaster preparation and evacuation procedures weren't made for social distancing. The pandemic means response decisions are now fraught with contradictions. 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His late father, Jerry Falwell Sr., wielded enormous influence. - [Religious tourism has been hit hard in the pandemic as sites close and pilgrimages are put on hold]( Faizan Ali, University of South Florida; Cihan Cobanoglu, University of South Florida As religious sites put pilgrimages on hold, a whole industry in travel, transport and accommodation takes a hit. Politics/Election '20 - [Trump’s foreign policy is still ‘America First’ – what does that mean, exactly?]( Klaus W. Larres, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill In 2016 Trump promised to 'shake the rust off America's foreign policy.' 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