More Americans Have Died of Coronavirus Than Were Killed in the 9/11 Attacks

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The number of people who have died of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States has now surpassed the number of people killed in the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.

The virus’s death toll in the US hit more than 3,100 on March 30, exceeding the 2,977 victims who were killed in the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and four hijacked planes on September 11. While the virus is incomparable in many ways to the sudden deaths on American soil in a terrorist attack, its slow-moving toll on civilian lives promises to upend American society in peacetime as only terror has done. And while the death toll surpassed 3,000 today, the number of confirmed cases is still rising rapidly, meaning many more people will likely die from COVID-19 in the weeks and months ahead.

The impact of September 11 went far beyond its initial death toll: Thousands of people were injured in the attacks, and thousands more died of diseases caused by exposure to toxic substances in the aftermath of the rubble of the Twin Towers. Its economic impact was similarly grim: In the three months following the attack, New York City’s economy lost 143,000 jobs each month and $2.8 billion in wages, according to a New York Times report from 2004.

The coronavirus’s effects will be far-reaching, as well. An estimated 160,000 people have been infected with the coronavirus in the United States, resulting in more than 20,000 hospitalizations and placing an unprecedented strain on the nation’s health care system. In addition, more than 3 million people have filed for unemployment due to the shuttering of non-essential businesses across the country. As the economy stumbled, the Congress passed a $2.2 trillion stimulus package—the largest of its kind in modern history.

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

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