News Information and Media Site: The Stakes 2020: Our lives now and texting with Rep. Grace Meng

GRACE MENG: Everyone from my relatives to community leaders consistently ask me if certain rumors are true and I have to debunk them. Eg. Every few days they will hear that yet another supermarket has a case of the virus and everyone should stay away. Also, there is a fake tweet going around on the Chinese chat room WeChat that shows that Trump apologized for labeling the virus as 'Chinese virus.'

THE LEDE

Joe Biden handily won several states on Tuesday night, but those primaries felt entirely beside the point, as my colleague Matt Berman wrote. Biden will in all likelihood be the Democratic presidential nominee, but at this moment, when we don't even know when the next primaries will take place, it feels like the campaign happened a lifetime ago as it's now completely frozen. As Berman aptly put it: "It's a particularly unsettling sensation for those of us who have been covering this election and for the people working within it. It's a feeling of running in sleet as fast as you possibly can while your family is shouting at you for your attention, and then suddenly hitting a wall and everything going silent."

The world is completely different, and we're all adapting the best we can. I hope you are doing well wherever you are. <3

Some programming notes:

For the time being, I'll be focusing a lot more on what's happening in government in response to the coronavirus pandemic, and my hope is that I'll be doing more text interviews with members of Congress, governors, state lawmakers, and people involved in the response. As you can tell, I also won't be publishing on a strict time/day. Who do you want to hear from? Email me: kate.nocera@buzzfeed.com.

Some programming notes, part two:

The journalists at BuzzFeed News — on every single team throughout our now entirely virtual newsroom — are working night and day to bring you trustworthy and relevant reporting about the coronavirus. Seriously, check it out. It's so damn impressive. To help keep this news free, become a member and sign up for our newsletter, Outbreak Today.

READ RECEIPTS

Texting with Rep. Grace Meng

I was able to text with Grace Meng on Thursday morning, as she worked from her home in Queens. Meng represents a really diverse part of New York City, with a large Asian American population, that includes Flushing, Forest Hills, and Kew Gardens. She's the first Asian American to be elected to Congress from New York and has been extremely vocal about calling out some of her Republican colleagues and Trump for calling the virus the "Chinese virus." She and I spoke about her confrontation with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, battling disinformation around the coronavirus, and whether members should be able to stay home.

KATE NOCERA: Representative Meng- it's Kate Nocera from BuzzFeed News. Thanks for agreeing to text with me- I know things are incredibly busy and stressful right now. GRACE MENG: No problem! I'm putting the milk in my coffee. Please give me 30 sec! =) I'm ready! KATE NOCERA: Hi! Ok- to start, can you send me a selfie and tell what you are doing today.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Selfie of Grace Meng. GRACE MENDG: Sorry didn't have time to do my hair =) Was making kids breakfast and getting ready to 'telework'. Today we're checking in with local groups, some briefings and feeding kids in between. KATE NOCERA: How much can you actually socially distance as a member of Congress? Obviously last night the news came out that 2 members tested positive for COVID-19- should the house even come back in person next week?

GRACE MENG: Many of my colleagues are very concerned about flying back and forth. There has been talk about voting 30 persons at a time but people are still uncomfortable. We don't really know who has the virus or not bc most of us have not been tested. I would say most members are probably doing in person events so that helps. There is a lot of usage of FaceTime and Zoom but not all our constituents know how to use those so it's a little harder to reach people too. I could always drive to DC bc I'm close but others don't have that option.

KATE NOCERA: Right- it seems like we are all learning how to adjust to this new way of living pretty hastily. Is there any talk of being able to vote remotely? GRACE MENG: Reps. Swalwell and Porter are working on legislation but people are worried about setting a bad precedent and worried about lack of relationship building if it became a more permanent practice. KATE NOCERA: So you represent a really diverse portion of Queens- and one that has I believe the largest Asian American community in the country. Are people able to get information in the languages they understand? What are you guys hearing from people there?

GRACE MENG: Yes it's one of the most diverse - about 30% AAPI in my case. Our city and state are doing a good job with multilingual outreach and translating fliers. But they get most of their info from local ethnic media so we have to make sure we're reaching out to them more than ever. We try to check in with local community leaders also who may be in contact with their members/network on their individual chat rooms too. As you know, I also spoke with your team about lack of sufficient language translations from administration but that's often an issue with federal govt.

KATE NOCERA: I saw you called out Leader McCarthy for calling the coronavirus the ''Chinese virus'' - something Trump has started saying with more frequency. Has McCarthy said anything to you about it? Have any Republicans? IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Screen shot of a statement by Rep. Meng, and twee from @RepGraceMeng reading, ''Shocked and dismayed that @GOPLeader has referred to the #coronavirus as the 'Chinese coronavirus.' This labeling of the illness is embarrassing, disrespectful, offensive, and downright disgusting. He must immediately apologize. My full statement below.''

GRACE MENG: I'm disappointed and hurt leaders like him and the president are using this term. I actually approached Leader McCarthy on the floor. I REALLY wanted him to understand where I was coming from and how Asian AMERICANS were being affected. He wasn't interested in those stories. He asked if I would call out papers like The NY Times and CNN and I said yes I would. KATE NOCERA: Oh wow. GRACE MENG: I didn't want it to just be a tweet. The rhetoric is very dangerous - many people in the community are very scared. People are telling me for example, their parents won't wear masks bc they don't want to get beat up.

KAT ENOCERA: Can you give me other examples of the kind of stories like this you are hearing about? GRACE MENG: And as you've seen, people have been getting harassed and even assaulted across the country. This could affect a generation of young Asian Americans. First story I heard was a woman on subway in NYC where someone chased after her, recent story I heard was at a dorm in Univ or NM where some students played a prank and wrapped up his dorm room and labeled it as quarantines.

Quarantined. Univ OF NM - sorry. KATE NOCERA: It's ok! Typos happen. GRACE MENG: 16 year old in CA was attacked and sent to the ER. We also believe there are incidents which are not being reported which is the case under normal circumstances anyway. KATE NOCERA: So awful. And what about misinformation? How much time are you all spending trying to correct bad info? We at BuzzFeed spend a LOT of time debunking false info online.

KATE NOCERA: So the House/Senate passed a giant aid bill yesterday- and another one is in the early stages of negotiations. For you what are somethings that bill MUST have. GRACE MENG: One of my top concerns as a parent is the number of kids that will be home that won't be able to do homework bc they don't have internet access. I'm wokring actively to make sure something like this is in the bill and I have gotten positive reactions from leadership so I'm very hopeful. My kids are lucky bc my husband and I are both able to help them with homework but not every kid can. I don't want this generation to fall behind. KATE NOCERA: It's so hard to think about how many kids without access to internet will just miss out on a full school year. The effects of this thing are so mind boggling to me.

GRACE MENG: I would also like to see tax credit, unemployment help and anything that can continue to help more money into everyday working peoples' hands. There are graduations that are already being canceled. Yeah we don't even know the full effects yet. KATE NOCERA: Right and we won't for a long time. One last question. GRACE MENG: And another issue is I want to make sure elections will happen and absentee ballots will be distributed to all as this is prime election season.

KATE NOCERA: What do you think the US should do about elections/primaries. Obviously no one can campaign now! Turnout was pretty (rightfully) dismal last week. Do states need to move entirely to mail in? Haha, that was my question! GRACE MENG: So funny I typed that as you were typing. I would LOVE to see entirely mail in ballots. Klobuchar/Wyden have a bill and I'm a cosponsor of the House version. I would have loved to see that under normal circumstances anyway.

KATE NOCERA: I won't take up too much of your time, thank you so much for doing this and good luck with the kids/staying at home. I hope members are able to figure out a way to stay safe, and not spread the virus amidst all this - thinking about all the other people too who need to be at capitol (service workers, staff, reporters). Also always nice to be able to conduct an interview in pajamas. GRACE MENG: Thanks and great to meet you! I did put on nice leisurely pants on for this =) Stay safe and healthy please.

HERE ARE SOME RELEVANT STORIES WE'VE WRITTEN THIS WEEK

(Yes, I'm aware this segment used to be called "On the Trail With BuzzFeed News," but you know the rest.)

There's an emerging feeling on Capitol Hill that they should not be gathering in person. Paul McLeod wrote about a proposed Senate resolution to allow remote voting during national emergencies, and Kadia Goba has the story on the members of Congress asking Nancy Pelosi to let them vote on legislation remotely.

Things got very confusing in Ohio, Henry Gomez reports, the night before the primary was supposed to take place (it ultimately didn't happen), showing how chaotic decisions about voting are while there's a global pandemic happening.

Emma Loop looked at the millions of dollars in federal contracts the government is handing out in response to the coronavirus.

Shortly after Congress passed a major coronavirus aid package Wednesday night, two members of Congress announced they had tested positive for COVID-19, Addy Baird reports.

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